Uncertainty
by Skylar Day
Summary: Wrecked. Injured. Confused. The Team find themselves separated and in a new land but no one remembers how or why. Things are looking bleak but salvation finds its way to the young heroes in the form of a car... or a giant robot...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! So this is the first official story that I'm posting! I can't guarantee that its all that great but I figured I'd go for it. So far I won't say when the next update will be. I want to write a few more chapters before I get into the habit of updating (hopefully) regularly. So basically consider this the pilot chapter :). Enjoy y'all!**

~ **Skylar Day  
**

 **|Unknown Location**

 **|August 25 15:51 PDT**

"Ugh." He moaned, "Please tell me someone got the number of the bus that hit me." Slowly his eyes peeled open. "Trees?" He looked down, "Dirt! Ok what's wrong with this picture?"

 _…"_ _This is a covert mission, observation only."…_

Wally West ran a hand through his thick red hair as his memories began to return to him.

 _…"_ _Looks like it's just you and me green cheeks!"…_

"Miss M!" Wally jumped to his feet searching the forest frantically but the thick foliage prevented him from seeing too far. In the blink of an eye, he was running through the woods searching for his lost teammate, the pitter patter of his feet blending remarkably with the sounds of nature. Before long, Kid Flash spotted something that didn't quite belong. A green and blue lump resting on the otherwise brown earth. In a heartbeat Wally was kneeling by Miss Martian's side.

"Come on!" He shook her gently, "M'gann! You need to wake up."

Miss M let out a weak groan and her brown eyes cracked open slightly.

"Wal-Kid Flash? What's going on?"

"Not so sure on that."

"You mean you don't remember?"

"Not really, no… Mind helping me out with that?"

"Oh! Hello Megan! One sec!"

 ** _|Mount Justice_**

 ** _|August 24 23:48 PDT_**

 _Robin, Wally, Kaldur, M'gann, Artemis and Conner stood surrounding the dark figure. Batman surveyed his team with a critical eye before debriefing them on their next mission. The Dark Knight typed something into the computer next to him and three pictures were pulled up. The first was a tall bald man in an expensive suit. The second was a boy with red eyes and black hair shaped like horns. A cat rested comfortably in the boy's arms. The last picture was by far the most terrifying. The man wore a purple pinstripe suit and had wild green hair. His ruby red, larger than normal lips stretched in a maniacal smile on his face._

 _"_ _Ok I get Joker and Luthor teaming up, I mean it's not the first time, but what does Klarion gain out of this?" Wally spoke up._

 _Batman ignored him and continued addressing the team. "Lex Luthor, Klarion and the Joker were all spotted meeting in a discreet location near Metropolis. The league has been keeping watch and they have met a total of three times at the same location. With this information, I have predicted them to be meeting again in a few hours. We need you to go in and gain Intel on their plans. This is a covert mission, observation only. These three are highly dangerous and it is imperative that you engage only to preserve the team or a civilian's wellbeing and even then as a last resort. Gain as much Intel as possible before you abandon your post. I expect you to be ready for departure within the hour." Without so much as an acknowledging glance, Batman turned on heel and stalked briskly out of the mission room._

 _"_ _Ugh! This reeks! How many covert missions are we gonna have to sit through?"_

 _"Calm down Baywatch! It's not the end of the world I mean this is the Joker, Luthor, and Klarion we're talking about!"_

 _"_ _Well it's not the end of the world that you're such a harpy!"_

 _"_ _That doesn't even make any sense Kid Idiot! At least I have a br-"_

 _"_ _Enough!" Kaldur shot a light glare at the bickering heroes. "We must focus on the mission at hand. We will split into groups now so that we will not waste time later. Kid, you and Miss Martian will wait outside to assist the infiltration teams if needed…"_

 _"_ _Looks like it's just you and me green cheeks!" M'gann blushed_

 _"…_ _Robin and Superboy, you will be our first infiltration team…"_

 _"_ _Asterous!" Robin stuck out his fist and smiled when Conner fist bumped him back._

 _"…_ _Artemis, you and I will be the second infiltration team. I will assign points of entry once we arrive on scene. Everyone suit up, we must leave within the hour as Batman said."_

 **|Unknown Location**

 **|August 25 16:06 PDT**

Miss Martian's eyes returned to their normal brown color as Kid Flash pulled out of his flash-back.

"That is all I can pull from our memories." Miss M said sheepishly.

"It's ok but we need to find the rest of the team ASAP. Can you fly above the trees and see if you can find anyone." Wally decided he needed to take charge for the time being. M'gann could hold her own but she was still inexperienced. M'gann nodded and rose above the trees. While she did this Kid Flash figured he might as well see if he could find anyone on foot. He zipped through the trees trying to cover as much ground as possible.

 _Wally!_ Miss Martian's voice rang in his head

 _What's up green cheeks?_

 _I-I think I found Kaldur! But we need to hurry!_

 _I'm on it!...Wait.. Where exactly is "it"?_

 _Hold on…there!_

 _Got it_

Wally skidded to a stop and turned in the opposite direction. Within a minute he was kneeling next to an unconscious Aqualad. Miss Martian came up behind him not long after. Aqualad looked a little worse for wear but mostly alright, you know, apart from being unconscious. Wally reached out to gently shake him awake.

"Aqualad. Aqualad!" Slowly, Kaldur's blue eyes blinked open taking in their surroundings.

"What has happened?" Aqualad ground out as he sat up quickly. "Where is the rest of the team?"

Wally gently pushed him back down eyeing the suspicious cut on his temple. "Give yourself a minute dude. You were just unconscious. Miss M and I don't remember much but Batman sent us on a covert mission to get Intel on Luthor, Joker and Klarion. Do you remember that?" Aqualad shook his head. "Great it's just like Bialia all over again!"

"Let us hope not, that mission was less than satisfactory. I believe I will be fine Kid, you can let me up now." Aqualad said with a smirk.

"Oops!" Kid Flash took his hands off of Aqualad's shoulders and helped their leader stand up.

"I could try to scan your mind for the rest of the memories Aqualad, but it might not do much."

"Do it." Miss Martian's brown eyes lit up green once more but promptly turned back brown.

"Sorry! I still can't extract any memories from our mission. Maybe if we had the whole team I could get something but there's just not enough memory there to make any sense out of it." Miss Martian rested her feet on the ground.

"It is alright Miss M. I too think we should find the rest of the team before the sun goes down. We must make sure no one is injured in anyway."

"What about the Bioship?" Wally piped up, "I searched most of the surrounding area and I couldn't find it. If it's not here then Robin, Superboy, and Artemis may be wherever it landed."

"I can't seem to find the Bioship's wavelength. She would have to be very far out of range, or maybe we didn't even bring her. We can't remember our departure."

"All are valid points. Miss M, establish a mind link and see if you cannot find the bio ship. We will split up in order to cover more ground and if needed we can find our way back through the mind link. Miss M focus on finding the Bioship. Kid Flash and I will search on foot for the rest of the team. I only hope we can find them before ill befalls them… or us."

 **|Unknown Location**

 **|August 25 14:54 PDT**

Pain. That was the first thing Artemis felt when she woke up. It took her fuzzy mind a moment to pinpoint where the pain was coming from.

"Damnit!" Another spike of pain shot up from her lowest left rib all the way to her shoulder. _Breathe Artemis. Breathe._ She breathed in the air deeply and hungrily as the pain subsided back to a dull throb. She opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the montage of sunlight overloading her senses and took in her surroundings. Trees. She was in a forest.

"Wally! What did you do!" She shouted instinctively.

"Ungh…" Artemis snapped her head towards the grunted response. _Huh. The Bioship. How did I miss that?_

"…Wally?" Only it wasn't Wally. Pinned underneath the Bioship was an unconscious Superboy.

"Oh my God, Conner!" Artemis tried to push herself off the ground but found her left leg wasn't working either and the effort left her tired and dizzy. The archer gritted her teeth and forced herself onto her stomach shooting another spurt of pain up the left side of her body. She army crawled as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast with only one side of her body, towards her fallen teammate. It took her way too long to reach him. "Superboy? Conner! Can you hear me?" She tried to reach out to wake him up, but she was too tired and weak. And what the hell was wrong with the left side of her body? She rested her head on the forest floor when her vision started to fade in and out. She would have to take this very slowly to keep from passing out.

"Artemis?" Her heart leapt for joy! She never thought she would be so happy to hear Superboy's voice! She turned her head towards him and tried once more to get up, only to collapse immediately to the cold dirt.

"Artemis! Hold on!" Faintly in the distance, she could hear him lifting the bioship gently. Duh, Superman's clone, of course he was fine. Waking up like she did really must have fried her rationality. Suddenly a pair of strong arms were lifting her up off the ground. She shivered. When did it get so cold? Before long she found herself looking up into Superboy's concerned face.

"How are you?"

"Not feeling the Aster… Hold on, did I just quote Robin? Ugh! What is wrong with me?" She tried to move her left arm, her left leg, anything but all she got in response was pain. She began to panic. Had she been paralyzed somehow? Her heart began to race.

"Whoa! What's wrong?"

"I- I can't… Superboy I can't move my arm, or my leg! My left side won't move Damnit!"

"Hemiplegia… Artemis you need to calm down!" Conner almost sounded angry.

"Calm down! I'm paralyzed aren't I! That's what hemi…sphere…ia or whatever is!"

"Yes but…" Artemis began to panic even further, she could feel herself hyperventilating.

"Artemis! It's not as bad as you think! Calm down! You need to breathe or you're going to pass out!" Superboy's tough love treatment snapped out of her panic and helped her to think clearly again. She forced herself to take deep breaths. In and Out, In and Out, inhale, exhale.

"You good?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?!"

"Sorry..." Superboy shook his head, "…Girls…"

"WHAT! Would you just tell me what the hell is wrong with me already!" Her voice got really quiet. "Am I… you know…"

"Paralyzed?"

"Yeah."

"It's probably not permanent…"

"Probably!?"

"Let me explain…"

"Oh you had better!"

"I'm not sure…the genomes taught me a little about medical…stuff…but I think its Brown-Sequard Syndrome."

"What the hell is that?"

"Brown-Sequard Syndrome is an incomplete spinal cord injury which presents itself by clinical symptoms which reflect hemisection of the spinal cord. I think it'll go away, but it's a serious injury which is why you need to calm down and rest." Artemis blinked. That was probably the most she had ever heard him speak at one time.

"How long…"

"I don't know." Of course, back to classic Superboy. "What do we do now?"

Artemis tried shrugging but was promptly reminded of her situation.

"Maybe I should have a look at those…" Superboy pointed to a number of injuries lining her body.

"Yeah…you do that…" One thing was for sure, this was hella awkward.

 **|Unknown Location**

 **|August 25 16:32 PDT**

"Robin. Partner to Batman. Thirteen Yea- AGH! R-Robin. Partner to Batman. Thirteen Years Old."

"Enough with this nonsense! Answer the question! Now!"

"Robin. P-Partner to B-B-AGHHH!... Batman. Th-Thirteen Y-Years Old"

"STOP MUMBLING! SPEAK UP!"

"ROBIN. PARTNER TO BATMAN. THIRTEEN YEARS OLD!"

 _God please…someone help…_

"Robin. Partner to Batman. Thirteen Years old. Robin. Partner to Batman. Thirteen Years old. Robin. Partner to Batman. Thirteen Years old. Robin. Partner to Batman. Thirteen Years old. Robin. Partner to Batman. Thirteen Years old…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey yall! So I guess here is the next chapter. Just a bit of feedback, do yall like the chapter size or should it be longer? Shorter? Just curious! Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

 **~Skylar**

 **|Jasper Nevada**

 **|August 25 15:30 PDT**

"…Yes mom, I'm staying the weekend at the bot's base…no I'm not in any trouble… Yeah Raf suggested it, and interesting stuff always happens there anyway…yes I promise, can I go now?... Ok love you too…Bye."

Sixteen year old Jack Darby hung up his phone and tucked it into his jean pocket. School was just getting out and teenagers were gossiping in small groups while they waited for their rides. Of course the ride that Jack was waiting for was a little out of the ordinary. Just a little. With a quick scan of the parking lot, Jack spotted a sleek, dark blue motorcycle with light pink highlights. Excitement bubbled in his chest as he sprinted over to the vehicle and got on. Almost instantly, the motorcycle started and revved its engines before speeding out of the parking lot.

"Thanks for picking me up Arcee." Jack said as soon as they were out of range of any prying ears.

"Of course kid, It's kinda my job you know."

Jack could practically feel the Autobot's smirk. "Just admit it, you like me."

At their speed, it only took the pair five minutes to arrive at the large rock formation hiding the Autobot's giant base. The motorcycle left the road and sped towards the orange tower. Just before they hit the rock wall, a huge hidden door opened up revealing a large hanger door. As soon as they were inside the main room, Jack leapt off Arcee, allowing the Autobot to transform, and rushed towards the "Living room."

"Gah!" Ratchet, a white and orange medic, grumbled as Jack ran under his feet, "Really! Do you humans wish to be squished underfoot?"

"Hey Jack!" Rafael Esquivel pushed his glasses farther up his nose, "We've been waiting for you to start the tournament!" He said excitedly.

"Tournament?"

"Yeah! I thought it would be a fun way to hang out!" Raf's innocent eyes pleaded silently with Jack. He couldn't say no if he had wanted to. "That's a great idea! So who's up first?"

"Uh Duh! Only the queen of the racetrack!" Miko Nakadai jumped out of her seat on the sofa and grabbed the nearest controller. "Common Raf! I'm gonna kick your butt!"

Jack sat down next to the two as they started the game and began to shout and holler.

Arcee had a lot of experience. In what? Well, a lot of things. She had been on the battlefield for a very long time now. She was a prisoner of war, a soldier, and even had a family at one point. Of course that last one had been a long time ago, though she was just recently beginning to call the bots (and even the children) her family. She had been in many situations where her life, or the life of her loved ones were on the line, and she quickly learned to be always observant of her surroundings. Constantly being on guard was necessary in her line of work, but annoying to no end. However, that's why she was the first one to notice the strange signal that had popped up on the giant computer situated in the center of the control room. At first she had been content listening to the children compete and have fun, but the Autobot was distracted when a small blip appeared on the screen. It was almost invisible, but she had been on watch enough times to recognize even the slightest change on the huge map. Suspiciously, she walked closer to the screen and studied the small signature, immediately recognizing what it meant. A strange feeling was building up in her spark.

"Hey Ratchet?" She called over her shoulder, not wanting the signal to leave her sight.

"What!" The cantankerous old Autobot snapped

"I need a second opinion on something, could you come over here?" The medic sauntered over and looked at what Arcee was pointing out.

The doctor squinted at the blip then widened his optics in surprise. "By the All Spark! It can't be, they were all wiped out ages ago! We need Optimus." At this point, the two bot's exchange had brought the other residents over. The kids had paused their game in curiosity and focused instead on their guardians.

"What's going on Ratch?" Miko asked excitedly, she had been waiting for an opportunity to get some rocking pics for her phone. Ratchet ignored her and typed on the computer's giant computer screen. "Optimus. Come in." Almost immediately a kind gravelly voice came over the speakers.

"Ratchet. What is wrong old friend?"

"We have an interesting development; a distress signal."

"Well is it con or bot?" Came Bulkhead's voice.

"Neither. You three, come back to base immediately. I need to explain properly."

"Understood." Optimus ended the call and led Bulkhead and Bumblebee back towards Jasper.

 **|Unknown Location**

 **|August 25 15:30 PDT**

"Artemis you need to keep your eyes open."

"…Can't."

Superboy grunted in frustration. He desperately wanted to punch something. Hard. But at this point, it would do his injured teammate no good to lose his temper. She was suffering more than him right now anyway.

"Artemis, you're injured badly. If you go to sleep you may not wake up."

Well that did the trick. Artemis's eyes widened in understanding and fear before clenching again in pain. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the pain was really beginning to hit hard. Superboy had carefully cleaned and dressed Artemis' wounds. Turns out she had three bruised ribs, a grade 2 concussion and her right wrist was broken, on top of her temporary paralysis of course. Lucky her. And to make matters worse, she and Superboy only remembered parts of what had happened to get them there.

 _Batman stood imposingly in front of the team, his face set in a seemingly permanent scowl. "This is a covert mission, observation only. These three are highly dangerous and it is imperative that you engage only to preserve the team or a civilian's wellbeing and even then as a last resort. Gain as much Intel as possible before you abandon your post. I expect you to be ready for departure within the hour." Without so much as an acknowledging glance, Batman turned on heel and stalked briskly out of the mission room._

 _"Ugh! This reeks! How many covert missions are we gonna have to sit through?"_

 _"Calm down Baywatch! It's not the end of the world I mean this is the Joker, Luthor, and Klarion we're talking about!"_

 _"Well it's not the end of the world that you're such a harpy!"_

 _"That doesn't even make any sense Kid Idiot! At least I have a br-"_

 _"Enough!"_

 _…_

 _"ETA two minutes." M'gann's voice rang out clearly in the ship's cabin. "Aqualad, something feels off…I can't place it exactly."_

 _"Understood M'gann. Team we must be on guard once we land."_

 _…_

 _'Robin!' Artemis strained to find her friend in the darkness he melted into._

 _…_

 _'M'gann! What has happened to Robin's mind link?!'_

 _'I-I don't know!'_

 _"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

 _…_

 _ARTEMIS!_

 _..._

"Ugh!" Artemis groaned again.

"Artemis…" Superboy asked tentatively. Artemis blinked, she wasn't used to seeing Superboy this way. But considering he was no more than a year old, it made since.

"Yeah?"

"I don't know what to do next…" God why her?

"Ok. Fine." She winced, "I guess we need to try to find the rest of the team." She weakly tried to push herself up farther on the tree trunk Superboy had leaned her against. " _I_ won't be getting far, but if we can get inside the Bioship…"

Superboy nodded and walked the length of the crashed ship until he reached the closed entrance. How was it that M'gann opened it again? Well she always used her telepathy, but he didn't think that would work for him. He glanced over to Artemis, she hadn't said anything in a while. Her eyes were closed.

"Artemis!"

"Relax Conner! I'm not going to sleep! Just focus on getting us out of here."

Superboy reluctantly returned his attention to the bioship. _I've been connected to M'gann before…Maybe I can reach out to it._ He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating on getting the door to open, if he could just get inside, he might be able to find the others… somehow. _Um…Hello? Bioship?_ Ok this was stupid and getting him nowhere. Suddenly, a small blue rectangle morphed onto the ships red side. Following a hunch, Superboy gently placed his hand on the shape. Almost instantly, the rectangle retreated back into the ship and a small opening appeared right where the door should be. It grew larger and larger until it was just the right size for Superboy and Artemis to slip through.

Superboy smiled and walked over to Artemis who still had her eyes closed. Concerned, he scooped her up into his arms and shook her gently.

"Wha-? Superboy! Gah you startled me!"

"You were falling asleep."

"Oh. Did you get into the ship?"

Superboy turned her towards the entrance and stepped inside the Bioship, the door closing up behind them. He gently set her into one of the chairs and walked over to the control panel.

"You're not thinking of piloting the bioship are you? Because it's a lot harder than it looks and I'm in no shape to do it right now."

"No, I'm trying to find the team. Besides, even if you weren't hurt, I don't think we could pilot her yet. I think she needs to rest."

"…Ok… So now what?"

"There might be…huh."

"What?"

"I think she's trying to help us. This button just appeared."

"Well what are you waiting for? Press it!"

Superboy cautiously pressed the small button that had appeared and a bright light began flashing within the ship's cabin.

"Ok what is that?" Artemis groaned, "It's hurting my head!"

"I think It's some kind of… distress signal…maybe." Superboy frowned, "I didn't know Bioships used distress signals. Not like this anyway."

"Yeah well you learn something new every day. So now what?"

"Now we wait?"

 **|Jasper Nevada**

 **|August 25 15:43 PDT**

A large blue and red semi rolled into the base, followed by a black and yellow sports car, and a green tank. The three took a second to transform before Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee joined the rest of Team Prime at the main computer screen.

"Ratchet, Arcee. Explain." Optimus ordered.

"Earlier when I brought Jack back, I noticed a strange signal pop up on the computer. When I examined it closer, I noticed that it was a distress signal." Arcee began

 _Click, Beep, Whirr!_ Bumblebee asked

Miko bent over and whispered in Raf's ear, "What did he just say?"

"He asked why they didn't just send them the coordinates so they could check it out."

Ratchet gestured towards the screen. "See for yourself Bumblebee."

Bee leaned in towards the screen and jumped back in alarm. _Zreeee! Whirrr vroooo!_

"A Martian Bioship!" Bulkhead exclaimed, "That's not possible, there aren't any more Martians left!"

Optimus stepped in front of the screen and took in the odd sight. "We must respond to the signal. Though I do not believe we have the medical means to assist should any passengers be injured."

"Sa-weet!" Miko jumped up, "Martian invasion! I'm so there!"

"Ah ah ah! Not so fast Miko. You're staying here. If they're white Martians it's possible they are hostiles." Bulkhead reprimanded.

"Aw! No fair!" Miko crossed her arms and pouted. "Wait… White martians?" She and Jack shared an incredulous look.

"Ratchet. Prepare the Ground Bridge for departure and standby. We may have new guests before this day is through."

Ratchet typed a few things on his computer and pulled down on a large lever. The exit tunnel of the base lit up with a green and blue light and a wormhole-like formation appeared in the opening.

"Autobots Roll Out."

|Unknown Location

|August 25 16:52 PDT

"ROBIN! SUPERBOY! ARTEMIS!" Wally screamed out into the forest. "ROBIN! SUPERBOY! ART- Oh hey Aqualad! Any luck? ROBIN! SUPERB-"

"Kid Flash." Aqualad rubbed his temples. "Don't you think it wise to keep our voices down? We did not get here by accident and I would rather find the rest of the team before someone else finds them."

"Oops! Sorry Aqualad. I guess I should've thought of that." Wally looked down and shuffled his feet.

"Do not worry my friend. We will find them." They had already been searching for half an hour without even the slightest sign of one of their teammates. It struck Kaldur as odd, they had all been in the same Bioship, how was it they couldn't even find a trace of the others?

 _M'gann. Have you found anything?_

 _Not yet Aqualad. There's nothing… nothing but trees!_ Aqualad could feel the young Martian's spirits dropping. He needed to get this situation back under control, but he couldn't help feeling a little hopeless himself.

 _It is alright M'gann. Come back down, we need a new strategy._

 _Ok. I'm on my way._

Soon Miss Martian was floating down from the tree tops, joining Kid Flash and Aqualad. She landed gently next to the two and looked towards Aqualad. Aqualad rubbed the top of his head and thought for a second.

"As much as it pains me to suggest it, our best course of action may be to find our way out of this forest and contact the league."

"You mean _abandon_ the team!" Wally's jaw dropped in disbelief and his shoulders tensed. There was no way he'd leave his teammates to fend for themselves! "We still don't know how we got here! They could be in danger! If you think I'd just leave them in the hand of the enemy!"

"I know you are worried Kid, but if we waste time looking for them and they are in danger, we may be too late. The league may have a better chance at finding them than us."

 _"May_ have a better chance?!" Wally began to shout. "And what if we leave and can't find our way back out here? What good would that do them?" Wally's whole face had turned bright red in anger as he practically exploded into Kaldur's face. Aqualad was taken aback. He had seen Wally mad before, but never this livid. The gravity of the situation was hitting the speedster hard.

"Um..." M'gann spoke up timidly, "Wally, I can feel you are upset, but Aqualad is right. Even with my telepathy, we can't find them. We need help." She gently placed her hand on Wally's trembling shoulder and the tension let up if only barely.

"Ok. I don't like it but ok."

Aqualad nodded and M'gann beamed.

"When I was on Mars, Uncle J'onn would sometimes bring survival shows for my brothers, and well, one thing they always said was to follow the river. I spotted a river not far from here! We could follow it to civilization!"

"It is a good start. Lead the way M'gann."

The two followed M'gann to a small river that cut through the forest. Wally walked up to the water and knelt down next to it. Cupping his hands, he scooped up the cold water and brought it to his mouth drinking greedily.

"I don't know how long we've been out here but I definitely needed that." Miss M and Aqualad realized how thirsty they were and mirrored Wally's actions.

"How long _do_ you think we've been out here?" M'gann questioned.

"I don't know. We cannot even be sure how long ago we began this mission."

The three fell silent again. Aqualad was the first to stand back up and looked in the direction the water was flowing. "We must go now, I'm not sure how far we will have to go but I would rather not leave the rest of the team overnight." Wally and M'gann nodded in agreement and they followed Aqualad, hopefully, towards civilization.

 _Snap!_

The young heroes tensed at the sudden break in silence. Before they could react, a large lumbering form burst from the trees.

Aqualad's eyes narrowed as he whipped out his water bearers. Why couldn't anything ever go smoothly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again! I'm not extremely happy with this chapter so please feel free to criticize! Constructive criticism of course! I just need to know what I can do to improve. Thanks a bunch!**

 **~ Skylar**

 **|Black Hawk Colorado**

 **|August 25 15:57 PDT**

Optimus Prime and his team cautiously drove through the Ground Bridge and found themselves in the middle of a dense forest.

"Autobots, proceed with caution."

Optimus took the lead, energon blasters armed, and pushed through the trees to a small clearing. The clearing was unusual. The trees surrounding it were bent and broken, bits of leaves and branches littering the forest floor. Scorch marks climbed up some of the tree trunks and the grass was ripped up in two large gashes in the center. On the far end of the clearing sat a small, red ship. From the looks of the crash, the bioship's unusual durability was the only thing that kept the passenger or passengers alive, and there was no way a normal human could have left it unscathed.

Silently, the Autobots approached the crash site hoping they were not too late.

"Scrap. We sure anyone survived this?" Arcee looked on with sad optics, she had seen the outcome of many crashes like this.

"Looks like no one's here." Bulkhead shrugged, "Let's get back already, Miko and I were going to go dune bashing today."

"Bulkhead, I am sure Miko can wait, there may be someone in need of our assistance." Optimus turned back towards the crash and knelt down, peering inside the small Martian ship.

"ARRRRG!"

Out of nowhere, a small black blur flew out of the ship and attached itself to Optimus' face! Startled, Optimus shook his head trying to dislodge the object. The other Autobots jumped back in surprise unsure of how to help their leader. But they never had to. The blur detached itself from Optimus and landed on the ground.

 _Whirr!_ Bumblebee exclaimed.

"I don't think that's a regular human Bee!" Bulkhead answered.

A black haired human-looking boy gazed at the Autobots and confusion brushed his face before he let out another monster growl and jumped fifty feet in the air towards Bee.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! We don't want to fight you!" Arcee stepped in front of Bee and deflected the boy.

"Since when do humans jump that high?" Bulkhead exclaimed looking back at Optimus. The Prime narrowed his eyes.

"Autobots, self-defense is unavoidable. We must contain this threat."

The bots armed their blasters and pointed them towards the boy. The kid didn't flinch. His scowl grew and he let out another roar. The boy charged at Bulkhead and jump kicked him in the chest bashing the brute to the ground. The human look-a-like pounded his fists into Bulkhead, creating a series of deep dents as the wrecker tried to throw him off.

"Bulkhead!" Optimus tried to pull the boy off of his soldier. The human changed tactics and grabbed Optimus' servo. The boy pulled on Optimus, dragging him away from the stunned Autobots. However, the Autobot leader wasn't so easy to defeat. He lifted the boy from the ground and lobbed him into a nearby tree, stunning him for the time being. Optimus wasn't one to use his size against smaller species, but this boy was obviously tougher than they first thought.

"Bulkhead are you-"

"Conner!"

The Autobots swung their heads back towards the Martian Bioship. A Blonde humanoid girl was clambering painfully from the entrance. She wore some sort of green suit and on her back was a human bow and arrow. The boy, Conner, groaned as he hoisted himself up and looked at the girl in shock.

"Artemis! Go back inside! It's too dangerous!" Conner ran to Artemis and placed himself in-between her and the bots, glaring at them challengingly.

"Don't come any closer!" He growled, taking a step towards the Autobots.

"Look kid-" Arcee began,

"I'm _not_ a kid!" Conner yelled,

"Arcee." Optimus chided then knelt in front of Conner. "Your name is Conner?"

Conner just glared back at him.

"We do not wish to harm you and your friend. We are responding to the distress signal you sent out."

"That wasn't meant for you!"

"No. But you're in need of assistance." Arcee stepped forward, also kneeling in front of Conner and Artemis. The girl was watching the scene like a hawk, tensed just as much as her partner.

"If you're injured, we know someone who might be able to help, but you've got to trust us."

"No offense, but you're ten times bigger than us and you were attacking Superboy! What makes you think we'd _ever_ trust you?!" Artemis tried to push herself off the ground, but Conner gave her a stern look before helping her up himself. The Autobots were confused. Who was Superboy?

"Ugh!" Arcee and Optimus looked back to where Bulkhead was lying on the ground just as Bumblebee pulled the wrecker to his feet.

"Thanks Bee." He turned towards Conner and punched his fist into his hand. "Look fleshy! No one knocks _me_ down and gets away with it!" Bulkhead took one step forward before Bumblebee jumped in front of him waving his hands frantically.

 _Whirr Zree! Zroww!_

Conner let out a growl turning all heads back to the two children.

Bumblebee gave Bulkhead a stern look and walked over to the pair. The other Autobots took a step back. Bumblebee was generally much less imposing than his companions. If anyone could get through to these two, it was him, if they could understand him that is.

 _Vrooo?_

Conner blinked. "Uh, I guess. What kind of question is that?"

Artemis's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait that _thing_ is saying stuff?"

 _Whirr!_ Bee said exasperatedly.

"Um yeah. I think you just offended…him."

"Oh well I guess I should apologize to the giant _robot_ that was just _attacking_ us!" Artemis said sarcastically.

Conner and Bumblebee looked at her expectantly.

"No way! I wasn't serious!"

Bumblebee's mechanical laughter rang out at Artemis' pout. For some reason, this reaction relaxed the kids and both of them smirked.

Arcee and Bulkhead exchanged incredulous looks. Just like that, Bumblebee had gotten them to relax. Maybe a gesture as simple as laughing was enough to reveal the bot's humanity, for lack of a better term.

 _Brrr, vrow zree._

Conner's eyes narrowed again but Bumblebee shook his head and put his hands up in a pacifying gesture.

 _Buzz whirr! Vrow zroo bree!_

"Are you sure?" Artemis was looking between Conner and Bumblebee like they were both crazy. Or maybe it was the fact that she was concussed. Yeah. _That_ was the problem.

"Well if you're so sure…" Bumblebee nodded excitedly.

"Ok."

"Ok?" Artemis gaped. "That's it? Con- Superboy! We can't trust them!"

"I don't. I trust him." He pointed towards Bumblebee who looked like he might be blushing, or at least the robot equivalent to that."

"And what makes you say- ugh." Artemis' feet buckled under her and Conner scooped her up in an instant. Conner looked worriedly at her bobbing head.

"You're hurt." He said quietly only to her. Those two words spoke volumes to the archer. Conner was right. They were desperate and they had no choice but to trust these- whatever they were's.

"Ok." She nodded before grunting in pain.

 **|Watchtower**

 **|August 25 13:01 PDT**

Cold hard eyes stared relentlessly at the bright white computer screen they were stationed in front of. _Clickity clackity clickity clackity clickity clackity_. Batman studied the information he had pulled up. Something wasn't right. He should have called by now, at least to confirm that they made it.

"Batman." Superman came up behind the hero disrupting his concentration.

"What."

"I was just coming to remind you to eat." The man held out a bowl of soup to the Dark Knight. "You do that sometimes."

"I don't have _time_ for food Clark." Batman turned back to the computer scanning for any sign that Robin and his team had made it to their destination. Still nothing. Batman growled and typed faster checking another radio frequency.

"Is…everything ok?" Superman's brow scrunched in concern.

"Like you would care."

"Oh really. And why wouldn't I care?" Superman pushed himself between Batman and the computer, his arms crossed.

"It has to do with your son."

"You mean the team? What's wrong?"

"And your _son_ Clark!" Batman pushed Superman aside and began typing again. "Robin hasn't contacted me yet."

"Oh come on Bruce! You're just being paranoid. Again. Look, the team left what? Thirteen hours ago?"

"They were only going to Metropolis Clark!"

"Ok well maybe he forgot?"

"And it's taken them _eight_ hours to gain intel and return? I knew you couldn't stand your own son, but are you really so unconcerned with the rest of the team? They're children!"

"Yes but you're the one who commissioned their team. You know how prepared they are!"

"Regardless this prompts looking into." Batman stood suddenly and turned the computer off. He was going to find his son if he had to _run_ to Metropolis!

"Fine. At least let me go with you."

"I don't need your help."

"Yeah, just like you don't have time to eat. I'm coming anyway." Superman smirked. "Besides I can't have a crazy bat-man running around my town alone."

Batman glared at the brightly colored hero but he didn't stop him when he followed him to the Batwing.

"Don't touch anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

 **|Jasper Nevada**

 **|August 16:20 PDT**

Artemis thought nothing would surprise her anymore. Since becoming Green Arrow's protégé, she had been introduced into the world of magic, aliens and sentient robots. When the giant robots that had "attacked" her and Conner had explained they were both sentient robots and aliens, she still wasn't too surprised. And she _certainly_ wasn't surprised when said sentient alien robots transformed into high end motor vehicles. Not. One. Bit.

Right after their little misunderstanding, the "Autobots" as they had introduced themselves, briefly explained that they were from some distant planet called Cybertron and that they had been fighting some centuries-old war with the "Deceptiontrons" or something like that. And seriously, did all of their names have to be robot-related or compound words. Come on! Bulkhead? Bumblebee? Arcee… Ok maybe not that last one… unless Arcee was some sort of alien-robot tool or something. Artemis felt another wave of fire surge through her body and she gasped, trying to dispel the feeling. After a few long seconds, she finally had her nerves under control.

 _Beep whirr vree click zroo!_

"Artemis!" Conner said annoyed.

"What?!"

"He asked you a question!"

"Well I'm sorry, but I don't speak giant alien robot!"

"Right. Sorry… He asked if you're ok."

"Not really." Artemis felt the car bristle beneath her.

"Sorry, I've uh got a lot on my mind right now." The muscle car's responding…noise… sounded oddly comforting.

"Thanks." She said on a whim.

The archer gazed out of the car's window. She was strapped into the back seat, so that she could lay down, while Conner sat in the passenger seat. Right after the bots had explained the basis of their war, they had stressed the importance of getting back to base in order to get Artemis to medical attention. It was then the two young heroes had first heard the mechanical clicks and hisses that signaled the Autobots' transformation into cars. Conner had then carried Artemis into the backseat of the black and yellow muscle car Bumblebee had transformed into. Optimus, who had turned into a flaming blue and red semi, radioed someone asking for a ratchet and some kind of bridge. Artemis still wasn't sure how a bridge and a ratchet were supposed to help them at this moment or how they were even remotely related.

A sudden bright blue light interrupted her thoughts. A giant blue-green vortex swirled ominously in front of them.

"What. Is. That?!" Artemis shrieked.

Conner growled and turned towards Bumblebee's console. "I thought you said no tricks!"

 _Vrooo whirr zree!_ Bee sounded like he was trying to pacify the young heroes.

Conner relaxed slightly and crossed his arms. "You better not be lying to us."

"Wait! What did he say?" Artemis strained to push herself up to get a better look at the vortex.

Conner and Bee ignored her and the car revved its engines.

"Wait! We're going inside that _thing_!"

The car lurched forward and charged towards the vortex. Artemis cringed, waiting for their impending doom and… nothing happened. Artemis peered out of the car's window and saw they were suddenly inside a large missile silo!

"Did we just Zeta Beam?" Conner said looking just as surprised as Artemis felt.

 _Vroo?_

"Uh. I'll explain later."

Artemis heard the car door hiss open and Conner's feet hit the ground. His footsteps growing louder before stopping in front of her door. The door opened and she could feel Conner pulling her out of the backseat.

Artemis blinked her eyes as she saw the expansive size of the silo. It almost reminded her of The Cave. The walls were made out of some kind of red sandstone and the floors and structure of the Autobot's base were made out of a generic grey metal. Quite honestly, it would have been boring if not for the three giant green computer screens elevated on one side of the base. A railed platform sat next to the computer with very human-sized stairs leading up to it. The strangest thing was that the platform held a human-sized sofa, TV, and gaming system. Interesting.

Optimus transformed and walked towards an orange and white Autobot that had been watching from the side.

"Whoa!" An unknown voice rang out through the large space. Three _humans_ ran out from the hallway the "bridge" had disappeared from. Or at least Artemis deduced that that must be the bridge. The oldest boy looked kind of like a mix between Conner and Robin. He had Conner's blue eyes and long nose, and he had a body more like Robin; muscular but thin… and he was quite a bit taller and older than Robin. Maybe sixteen? Seventeen? The second oldest was a short Asian girl, probably Japanese. She had short black hair styled in two tall "pom-poms" with a streak of bright pink on one side. She looked like she was trying to pull off the whole punk rocker thing. The last boy, Artemis could tell looked young for his age. Maybe eleven or twelve. He had brown hair that seemed to defy gravity and a pair of glasses that he had to adjust every once in a while. Just from being around Robin, she could tell he was a computer nerd. The Japanese girl ran up to her and Conner, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Hi I'm Miko! Are you actually Martians? You don't look like Martians. Unless you're the white kind Bulk was talking about. Do you eat people? What kind of stuff do you do in your free time? This is so cool!" Conner gaped at the girl and Artemis took a second to survey the bots. They all had tensed up when the children approached them. They probably thought that Conner might attack them.

"Martians _do not_ eat people!" Conner glared at Miko but the girl didn't seem fazed in the slightest.

"Well that's lame. What do you eat then? Rock?"

"Why the hell would we eat rocks?" Artemis snapped.

Miko just crossed her arms and looked at Artemis defiantly. "What else is there on Mars?"

The oldest boy rolled his eyes at this and pulled Miko back from them. "Um, Miko, if they are Martians don't you think we should try _not_ to anger them?" He said

"Look!" Conner grumbled, "We're _not_ from Mars."

"What! Lame! Bulk you said you were bringing back Martians!"

"Well, where are you from?" The youngest boy looked up at the two curiously.

"Earth. How is this helping Artemis?" Conner glared up at the bots accusingly.

Optimus turned to the orange and white Autobot. "Ratchet…" _Oh!_ That made sense now. "Would you contact June Darby? She is better equipped to assist the humans."

"Uh Optimus, it might be easier if I just call her." Said the oldest boy. Optimus nodded in agreement.

While the kid took out his phone and called June Darby, Conner decided he needed to lay Artemis down, it would be much more comfortable for her instead of being held this whole time.

He looked at the youngest boy, the girl was too annoying. "Can you show me where to lay her down?" At this point Artemis had begun to drift off again. She had been hiding the damage to her body well so far. Conner had been shocked at the extent of her injuries when he had bandaged her up. It always surprised him how vulnerable humans were. The crash had simply knocked him out whereas Artemis could no longer move. The young boy nodded his head and led them to the sofa Conner had spotted earlier.

"It's not much, but before the military gave the base to the bots, they cleared out everything except the computers. There're no beds or anything here."

Conner laid Artemis gently on the sofa, without a word, and watched concernedly as her eyes stayed tightly shut.

"While we wait, mind telling us what happened to that ship of yours?" Arcee had her arms crossed in front of her chest, but she radiated kindness and understanding. The other Autobots and the three children looked at Conner expectantly.

"I'm no good at explaining things. You should wait for Artemis."

"Aw! Common! We don't bite!" Miko whined

Conner looked at the Autobots. While they all seemed kind and concerned, there was a deeper emotion within their optics. Understanding. They had been through a lot, Conner could tell. They were willing to help and they could probably relate to his situation. It was right then that Conner decided he could trust the robots that had saved him and his teammate.

"It's not our ship. It's our teammate's."

"Teammate? What kind of team do you belong to?" Bulkhead looked confused. Though Superboy couldn't say he blamed him. This whole situation was pretty weird.

"Artemis and I are part of a covert operations team sanctioned and deployed by the Justice League."

…

"Who's the Justice League?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok can I just say...this chapter is massive! I really didn't plan for it to be so long or so _explosive_ lol! I hope my fight scenes are ok, I reread this chapter like million times to make sure everything was good. That being said, I still might have missed a few things. Anyway, enjoy this GIANT action packed chapter!**

 **~Skylar  
**

OoOoOoOoOoO

 **|MECH Head Quarters**

 **|August 25, 16:08 PDT**

Lex Luthor stepped out of the glowing portal and straightened out his tie. Things hadn't gone exactly to plan, but that wasn't going to stop him. It just meant that now he had to do some damage control. Lex turned to his 'associate' who had come through behind him.

"You know your task. Get to it." He commanded. The lanky figure let out a delighted laugh and bound away cackling madly.

Lex sighed and walked towards the military hangar in front of him. As he approached, several armored men ran forward aiming their guns threateningly at him. Lex scoffed.

"Relax, I'm here to talk to Silas. He's expecting me." The men kept the guns pointed at him and Lex growled under his breath.

"Trust me, you _don't_ want to get on my bad side!" The men exchanged wary glances and lowered their weapons.

"Smart move."

The guards walked forward and Lex followed them into the large base.

"Ah! Lex Luthor." Came a gravelly voice. A muscular white-haired man appeared from the shadows, his face sporting a large grotesque scar.

"Silas." Luthor greeted. "I heard you found something I've been looking for."

"I assure you I had no idea he was one of yours. I hope our- alliance- still stands."

"That depends. Let me see him."

Silas turned on heel and strode down a long hallway. Luthor was led to a small metal room. It was empty except for the small dark haired boy hanging from a chain attached to the ceiling.

"Hmm. Looks like you've gotten yourself into quite a situation haven't you… Robin." The unconscious boy didn't answer.

"He still hasn't woken yet. If you don't mind, my men and I would like to, ah, _extract_ information from him before you take him off our hands." Silas's subtle implications meant nothing to Luthor.

"You are welcome to try, but Batman has trained his young protégé well. If you don't mind, I would like some alone time with the boy, then he is all yours. I have no need of him. Of course, before I leave, we will discuss the terms of our alliance."

Silas narrowed his eyes. "But of course. I'll be in the control room when you are finished with him." Silas walked out of the room and shut the door.

Luthor smirked and pulled something small out of his pocket before turning towards the Boy Wonder.

"You'll serve your purpose well I think."

 **|M.E.C.H. Head Quarters**

 **|August 25 16:59 PDT**

Robin cracked his eyes open and surveyed his surroundings. Empty! Robin's eyes rolled behind his mask. The room they were holding him in was the epitome of a cliché evil-torture chamber. I mean common! Metallic, windowless walls? The least they could do is add a poster or something! From the ceiling hung a single bright round lamp and to Robin's right was a surgical table filled with a multitude of unrecognizable torture devices. In any case these clowns had that going for them! And did he mention that he was currently hanging five and three quarter inches off the ground? No? Well thick iron cuffs were wrapped around his thin wrists and a heavy chain lead to a single hook jetting out of the ceiling maybe eight and a half inches from the lamp. Seriously? These guys must have gotten their interrogation techniques off of a crappy Hollywood movie or something. And to top it off, the lead jerk had made the mistake of leaving him alone…with his utility belt. Psh! Idiots.

Robin rolled his neck and extended his lock picks from the tips of his gloved fingers. In less than three seconds he was dropping to the ground and stretching out his stiff limbs. Batman was going to kill him for taking so long! Of course Robin did have a pretty good reason for his delay. He had been interrogated many times, it was part of the gig, but this was definitely not one of the most asterous times. That "Silas" guy was ruthless and he had almost gotten him to crack. Almost. Robin shook his head and snuck quietly to the door. The rusted hinges let out a whining _creak!_ The acrobat ducked behind the door to avoid detection. Cautiously he peeked past the metal frame to see the damage done. _Huh._ He thought, _That's really weird!_ The hallway was completely empty…not a guard in sight. Robin's internal alarms were blaring _Trap!_ But he had to try to escape. There was no way he was staying in this hell hole any longer.

The young hero slipped noiselessly into the empty hallway and ran as fast as he could towards what he hoped was out. Suddenly the hallway opened up into a large control room… full of guards. _Oh crap!_ Robin dove behind a few crates as the lackeys opened fire on him, bullets bouncing off the crates around him. _I need to find a way out of here!_ The hero taped a button on his glove and opened up his wrist-computer. His fingers flew across the keys and he soon found himself looking at the blueprints for the building. _Ha! Too easy!_ Pinpointing his target, the acrobat bolted across the room. A handful of the goons stepped in front of him. With a few quick jabs they were groaning on the floor. He vaulted over a railing and landed crouched in front of the main computer. No way was he leaving these bozos with anything! Robin quickly hacked into their database and downloaded intel on the organization before wiping the hard drive. A few more gunshots and a punch from behind found him in close combat with one of the footman. The poor idiot never had a chance. Robin took him down easily with a sweep kick and jumped onto the shoulders of the guard's oncoming backup. He twisted his body, knocking the guy to the ground, and sprung off of him and over the railing. The young hero fired his grappling gun at the ceiling and flew up through a vent cover. Knowing what was coming, he scrambled as far away as he could. An inferno exploded behind him. Robin smirked and moved on through the vents. _That ought to keep them busy._

"Ok Robin," He said to himself. "Now how to get out." He pulled up the blueprints again and studied the various rooms.

"Yes!" He fist pumped. Not far from him was a military style hangar, although the Boy Wonder doubted these imbeciles were military. He instantly memorized the path and crawled towards the hangar. After sixty three feet and two inches, a small light began to grow in the dark vents. Robin scrambled up to the light and peered through the slits in the vent. The hangar!

"Another empty room?" Robin's brows furrowed, "Okay, this is way too easy." Suspiciously, the hero kicked the grating out and jumped the remaining ten feet and three inches to the ground. Still no one.

"I'm either really lucky, or this is going to be a trap!"

He quickly scanned the room and spotted his next target. At the far end of the hangar was a MH-6 Little Bird Helicopter. Robin snorted at the irony. The acrobat sprinted across the room. More bullets zipped past him and Robin somersaulted the remaining fifteen feet six inches, taking cover behind the Helicopter. The guards shouted out and advanced on the two Little Birds. Wasting no time, Robin sprung into the cockpit and rammed on the headset. He started the helicopter and geared up to fight. He would have to hold off until the copter was ready for take-off. A few of the men tried to crawl into the cockpit with him, but the acrobat kicked them out.

"What the _hell_ is going on in here!" Shouted out a familiar voice. Silas ran into the hangar and took one look at Robin in the almost warmed up helicopter. His face turned red as a ripe tomato.

"You idiots! Stop him!" The man pulled out a glock and took aim. One shot. Two shots. Crack! A Third shot. Robin's heart beat sped up. He was going to crack the windshield before the helicopter could take off! The caped hero needed to buy himself just a bit more time. He hung out of the cockpit, digging into his utility belt. With a flick of the wrist he hurled two explosive batarangs near Silas. The resulting explosion flung him and his men back dazing them for a minute. That was all of the time the Helicopter needed.

Cheering, Robin pulled up on the collective control and adjusted the throttle. The Helicopter lifted off the ground and with a few clicks on his holo-computer, Robin had the hangar doors wide open. Just as he was exiting his prison, Silas ran in front of the helicopter. The man cocked his glock once more and fired off a round of shots into the cockpit.

Robin cried out as his bicep erupted in pain red-hot pain. The helicopter lurched off to the side nearly crashing, but Robin was able to gain control in time and pull out into open sky. Robin looked back in time to see Silas heave his gun into the cement and smirked. He winced as pain shot up his arm again. He looked down warily and saw the bullet had only grazed him. It was deep, but he'd still be able to use his arm. Thank God! Once he was far enough from the building, he put the Helicopter on autopilot. Robin worked quickly on his computer and activated the emergency bat-trackers that Batman had implanted in his team months ago. Of course none of them knew about that. Robin grinned as five signals popped up on his map. Gaining control of the helicopter again, Robin turned towards the first set of dots.

"Asterous!"

 **|Unknown Location**

 **|August 25 17:01 PDT**

Aqualad couldn't believe his eyes! This had to be the biggest robot that he had ever seen. It towered over the trees and each of its massive steps felt like a mini earthquake. The robot was mostly black and purple with traces of silver. Where its face should be was a glass screen and two large metal pieces jutted off of its shoulders. The other thing Aqualad noticed in this split second; the robot had not seen them yet. Aqualad made a quick decision and pulled his two teammates behind the trees with him.

"What are you doing?" Kid Flash whispered, "Why aren't we fighting it?"

"Kid Flash, I do not wish to engage if we do not have to. Our top priority must be to contact the league and find our team."

"Aqualad, don't you think it's strange that such a huge robot _happens_ to be in the middle of the woods?" Miss Martian interjected, "What if that's the reason we can't find the rest of the team? What if it took them?"

Aqualad pondered her words. It was possible that this robot was part of the reason they were here. If there was even the slightest chance it could help them reunite the team, it would be worth it to look into it. If anything, they could get information from it.

"You are both right. However, we will only tail it, do not engage. Let us bring back our friends."

"Kid Flash and Miss Martian nodded. Aqualad glanced out from behind the trees and to see the robot's head receding over the trees.

"Miss Martian follow it from the air, if either Kid Flash or I fall behind you can direct us. Kid Flash, you and I will tail it from behind. Once we find where it is going, we will rendezvous and form a suitable plan. No matter what we find _do not_ rush into anything. Understood?"

The two nodded their agreement again. Miss Martian camouflaged herself and rose into the air. Aqualad and Kid Flash followed the robot's bobbing head until they were about forty feet away. Keeping their distance, the three followed the robot blindly into the heart of the forest, unaware of where it was leading them.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Aqualad, Kid Flash and Miss Martian had been following the machine for over an hour and still no progress.

 _Ok seriously? Where exactly is this thing going?_ Kid Flash said over the mind link.

 _Maybe it's looking for something?_ Miss Martian suggested.

 _That is a possibility, but it seems to know exactly where it is going. I believe it has a set destination._

The three heroes fell back into silence as they pondered this. Luckily for them, the robot began to slow down and the trees were thinning out.

 _We're almost there!_ Said Miss Martian excitedly! _I can see a clearing of some sort up ahead._

 _Good work. Let us regroup to see what we are dealing with._

They came together and followed M'gann towards the clearing she had seen. The forest floor seemed to drop suddenly and the proteges saw that it wasn't a clearing, but an excavation site. The crater was filled with more giant robots, all working hard to dig up some sort of blue glowing crystal. The heroes ducked behind a mound of earth and watched their robot walk up to another machine in the middle of the depression. This robot radiated arrogance. Just in the way it was overseeing the progress and ordering around the others. It was tall thin, and silver with red accents. Two wings protruded off of its back and missiles sat ominously on its arms. The leader looked up at the purple robot angrily.

"Soundwave!" It shouted, its voice making its way easily to the heroes' hide out. "What took you so long?" The robot's voice was surprisingly expressive and annoyingly grating. It made them think that all of the robots must be conscious beings.

The robot, Soundwave, didn't say anything yet the silver robot seemed shocked at something.

"Followed?" It screeched suddenly.

"Uh oh." Kid Flash breathed.

Soundwave turned around and pointed a lanky finger right at the hiding heroes. They all gulped. "More of the Autobots' pets?" The silver one grinned sadistically peering at them. "Decepticons! Retrieve the humans."

"So much for don't engage!" Kid Flash quipped as the 'decepticons' ran towards them.

"Whatever we have stumbled on cannot be good. We must not allow them to leave with what they came for." Aqualad pulled out his water bearers. "As you say on the surface, give them Hell."

The heroes took up battle stances and faced the giant army surging towards them.

 **|Metropolis**

 **|August 25 16:32 PDT**

Batman landed the Batwing just outside of Metropolis City limits. Not far from their landing site was an old abandoned science lab; the team's mission destination. Batman jumped out of the plane and stalked quietly towards the tattered old building. Superman followed closely behind and used his x-ray vision to scan the building.

"Clear." He said and Batman grunted in acknowledgement.

The Dark Knight kicked in the front door and shined a flashlight through the lobby. The walls were a dingy white color and broken glass littered the dusty floor. A few rats scampered away as Batman shined his light down a dank hallway. The two, having worked together many times, split up and crept through the building searching for any sign of the team.

"Batman." Superman called suddenly. The hero followed the sound of his partner's voice into a small empty lab space.

"What."

"Look at this." Superman held up a tiny shiny device. "Any idea what this is?"

Batman took the device and turned it around in his hand. It was extremely small for how complex it looked. This would have taken months to create in this lab, even with a high powered microscope. Batman studied it for a few seconds, taking in the tiny wiring and intricate metal work. Overall, this device was no bigger than a metal BB pellet. Shining his flashlight around the rest of the room, Batman noticed several small tools and leftover metal pieces from creating the device. If Luthor had been behind this, why was he using an abandoned science lab to create something so complex instead of the modern technology his company possessed? It didn't make since and Batman didn't like that.

"I can't be sure. Whatever it is, it may be important to understanding what happened to the team. We'll take it back to the Watchtower for further investigation." Batman slipped the small device into an evidence bag and placed it carefully in his belt.

Superman and Batman searched the rest of the building, but nothing else was found other than broken lab equipment and a large rat's nest.

"The team is not here and I don't believe they ever were. There's something else at work here." Batman surmised.

"So what do we do? We don't know where to start looking for the kids." Superman pointed out.

"No but we do have a few leads… three to be exact. It may be more beneficial to follow the saner one first."

"You mean Luthor."

"Exactly. The team was here to gain information on the Joker, Luthor and Klarion. It stands to reason that at the very least one of them was involved."

"But if they never even made it here, how do we know for certain?"

"We don't. Do you have any better ideas?" Batman snapped suddenly

Superman sighed and rubbed his temples. No matter how much Batman tried to push others out, he could see right through his friend's mask.

"Look. We'll find the team, and Robin. We'll bring them back."

Batman shot him a glare that clearly said _duh you idiot_ and walked out the door towards the Batwing.

"Are you coming?"

Superman sighed again and flew into the passenger seat. The door hissed closed behind him and in less than a minute, the Batwing was in the air flying towards Luthor's last known destination.

 **|Unknown Location**

 **|August 25, 18:16 PDT**

The blistering sun bore down on the tired heroes as they cut through the gargantuan army. Sorely outnumbered and outsized, the heroes were quickly losing spirit. Not to say they weren't fighting well. On the contrary, they were taking out quite a few of the giants. However they were so outnumbered that they were barely making a dent.

Miss Martian had taken up a position in the sky. Her eyes glowed a bright green as she manipulated one of the blue glowing cubes. She had noticed early on that the metal soldiers held a certain concern for the cubes. It was strange though, they didn't seem very complex, just solid blue material. Regardless, they made exceptional battering rams. She raised her arms above her head and sent the giant blocks careening into a large group of the robots. A few of them got back up, but the majority laid unconscious on the forest floor. She felt the slightest pang of sympathy for the beasts. Suddenly, Miss Martian was plucked from the air by a large purple hand. The Martian gasped as the air was slowly squeezed from her lungs. The robot turned her towards him, revealing the face of Soundwave. M'gann gasped desperately, begging for release. Her vision went blurry and then, just like that, it was gone. Shockwave tensed in surprise as the freed Miss Martian smiled deviously. Her eyes glowed even brighter and she lifted the robot off the ground. With a flick of the wrist, Soundwave slammed into the stack of cubes.

Kid Flash knew he would never stand a chance against the Decepticons. At least up close he wouldn't. He zoomed around the battlefield confusing the metal army. He skid to a stop in front of one of the soldiers.

"Hiya!" The robot tilted his head in confusion. Kid Flash zipped under his legs. Frustrated, the robot shot after him, his aim missing the yellow blur by a landslide. Kid eased up on his speed slightly and led the distracted robot around the crater. He slid under the legs of another robot and the one following him shot his comrade in his confusion, sending him to the ground.

Aqualad was fighting the robots head on. His water-bearers swimming through the air, he dented, sliced and electrocuted the living metal. One of the beasts swiped at him but he ducked under with ease. Rolling away from its next attack, he formed two swords and jumped into the air. In one fell swoop, the robot's hand was severed, its owner screeching agonizingly. Aqualad winced at the display. These creatures could feel pain. That changed the rules. Taking a, hopefully, more humane approach, he faced his next opponent. Electricity coursed through his toned body and into his double swords. The robot charged him and he jumped up onto its reaching hand. Running up its arm, he brought his electrified weapons down into its shoulder. The giant body twitched and dropped to the ground unconscious.

Aqualad ducked once more behind a cluster of trees and took a second to look around the battlefield. While he and his teammates were performing admirably, there were simply too many soldiers. They would surely tire before they could take everyone down.

 _Miss Martian, Kid, He_ called urgently, _Retreat, we shall not succeed like this._

Hidden safely from view behind a stack of blue cubes, the three formed a new battle plan.

"We can try, but there's no way we're defeating all of these things like this!" Kid whispered.

"I agree but we must not allow them to leave with these cubes, whatever they are."

"Then we have to find a way to get rid of them!" Miss Martian said, "But how?"

The heroes could hear the sounds of the robots searching for them as they hid. They were running out of time. Kid Flash's eyebrows scrunched together in thought.

"Well, they attacked us first, so they can't be good. By default whatever they want can't be either." He thought out loud, "But this stuff seems practically useless! What would they need it for?"

"Maybe it's parts for a weapon?" Miss Martian asked.

"Hmm, not likely." He shook his head.

"What makes you say that?"

"There's too much here, I mean, they could be mass producing giant weapons but that seems unlikely. Besides just from the look of this stuff, it wouldn't make a very good medium. Too brittle and crystalline, you couldn't really shape it into anything. By the physical properties showing and the sheer amount they seem to be needing I would say it would most likely be used inside the machine. Maybe as magnification or for diffraction. But that doesn't account for the amount they have. And then there's the blue glow suggesting a low radiation. So an output of energy could mean it's a fuel source for the device."

"Fuel? Isn't that combustible?"

"Some of it can be but we don't know for sure if this stuff is."

"It may be the only option we have." Aqualad whispered back.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You mean blow it up? There's a lot of things that could go wrong! And M'gann! Your weakness!"

"If we have to, I can get far enough away to where the blast won't affect me as much."

"We must try. We cannot leave our world undefended. We may be the only ones who know about this."

That logic couldn't be argued with. With a last confirmation of their tasks, Kid Flash sped off to prep his part of the plan. Meanwhile, Aqualad and Miss Martian set off to distract the cons and bring their attention away from the cubes. The two young heroes plowed through the giant army, bringing down robot after robot together. Aqualad jumped onto each robot's shoulders and jammed his water-bearers between their armor, bringing them down with a surge of electricity. Miss Martian flew high in the sky assisting Aqualad as he needed it. She saw one of the robots sneaking up on him as he jumped off of another's shoulders. Just as the decepticon's long fingers were reaching out to snatch him up, she lifted Aqualad off the ground and spun him around to meet his would-be captor. Aqualad used his advantage to bring the robot down and nodded to Miss Martian in thanks. Just then Kid Flash appeared near the glowing blue cubes, a strange contraption in his hands.

 _Don't ask me how I managed to make this, I'm not entirely sure myself!_ He thought over the mind link.

 _That is not exactly reassuring._ Aqualad mussed.

 _It'll work trust me._ And with that, Wally stuck the device in the center of the stack of cubes and pressed a few buttons.

 _Ok we have exactly fifteen seconds to get away from here once I activate this!_

 _Miss Martian, begin your retreat. We will give you a head start._

Miss Martian camouflaged herself and flew quickly into the forest to distance herself from the impending flames. Aqualad electrocuted another robot and scoured the battlefield again. Something didn't feel right.

 _Where did the leader go?_ He thought suddenly an uneasy feeling settling deep into his stomach.

 _Aqualad! I'm far enough away!_ Miss Martian's voice erased the worry from his mind.

"KID FLASH! NOW!" He shouted. Kid Flash pressed another button and then sped over to Aqualad. Picking him up, he sped as fast as he could away from the crater.

 _3…2…1… BOOM!_

Even with his incredible speed, Kid Flash barely managed to get them away from the blast. The shock wave sent the two sprawling into the dirt. Kaldur could feel his body tumbling and rolling before stopping suddenly when his back cracked into a tree. His ears ringing, he stumbled to his feet looking around. Ashes were falling from the sky and coating the ground like soft snowflakes. He could see thick black smoke in the distance and he could still feel the heat radiating from the flames created by the enormous blast. Kid Flash wasn't kidding around.

Wait! "Kid Flash? Kid Flash!" The Atlantean's head swiveled around, more worry sinking into his stomach.

"Looking for these?" A familiar voice rang from behind him. Drawing his weapons once more, Aqualad turned slowly towards the gravelly voice. The gray robot leader stood among the ashy trees and behind him stood 'Soundwave,' holding his two unconscious teammates.

"Let them go." He growled, startling himself at the ferocity of the sound.

"Hmm…" The stilettoed leader stroked his chin a thoughtful look appearing on his metallic face. "No." He smirked. "You three humans managed to cause quite a…commotion. No doubt Lord Megatron would want to meet the tiny humans who managed to blow up a whole stock pile of Energon!"

"Energon? You mean those blue cubes? We did what was necessary."

A groan escaped Wally's mouth as the speedster slowly woke up. "Wha- Whas goin' on?"

The robot's 'eyes' narrowed dangerously, ignoring Kid Flash's interruption. "Rest assured, you and your little friends will pay for this!"

Aqualad glared at the creature before him and got in his battle stance. "Then you leave me no choice." With a loud yell, Aqualad charged the two titans standing before him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the wait but here's my new chapter. I must say it was very challenging working with so many characters at once in this chapter so I'm hoping its alright. As always please leave feedback, scene suggestions etc. I really love reading reviews! I also want to dedicate this chapter to Daughter of Ironman06 for reminding me to get my butt in gear and finish this chapter. :)**

 **~Skylar**

 **|Jasper Nevada**

 **|August 25, 18:36 PDT**

"Hello! Did you not just hear my question?" Miko huffed and put her hands on her hips. "I _said,_ who's the Justice League?"

Conner was thoroughly surprised. "You don't know who the Justice League are?"

"Um should we?" Said the oldest boy.

"You didn't tell me your name." Conner said bluntly.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck "Oh right, uh I'm Jack. This is Raf and the overly excitable-"

"Hey!"

"-Punk-rocker chick is-"

"Miko. I know."

Arcee raised an eyebrow (did robots have eyebrows) and looked pointedly at Conner. "Are you always this elusive?" Conner decided to ignore her. "I guess that's a yes then."

"So uh, how did you and your team get separated?" Bulkhead pried, trying to ease some of the growing tension.

Conner shrugged, "We crashed."

A bright red flashing light interrupted their subtle interrogation. Conner tensed up as a loud alarm blared throughout the bot's base.

"What _is_ that?" He ground out holding his overly sensitive ears.

"Proximity sensor." Ratchet replied shortly pulling up an image of a speeding car on the large computer screen, "Optimus, June Darby is here."

The large Autobot leader turned towards the base entrance as a small, rusted, white car flew in and skid to a stop. A tall, dark-haired woman got out, rummaged through her trunk and pulled out a white medical bag.

"Optimus," The nurse said shortly, anger hidden in her greeting.

"Mrs. Darby," He rumbled calmly.

Mrs. Darby walked briskly towards the three children and looked them over. "What's the matter? I thought Ratchet said someone was hurt!" She still hadn't noticed Superboy standing loyally next to Artemis.

"Mrs. Darby, it is one of our new friends who requires your assistance." Optimus gestured a large hand towards the two young heroes.

"New fr- Oh!" The nurse caught sight of Artemis resting on the sofa and ran over. "Oh my God! What happened to her?"

"We crashed." Superboy grumbled looking worriedly at his friend. "I-I couldn't get her to stay awake."

Mrs. Darby knelt down beside the girl and began to look over her injuries, taking stock of every scrape and bruise. "You bandaged these?" She asked, Conner nodded. "They're very well done. Has she been unconscious this whole time?"

"No. She woke me up after the crash. I think she has Brown Sequard Syndrome on her left side. Also three of her ribs are bruised, her right wrist is broken, and she has a Grade 2 concussion."

"Very good. I think you might be right young man. But how did you know all of that?"

"I know…stuff." He rubbed the back of his neck. This woman seemed trustworthy, but he wasn't sure he was ready to share all of his secrets just yet.

The nurse tilted her head in confusion before focusing again on Artemis. "You may be right about the concussion but I'll need to wake her up in order to make sure nothing is too serious. Is that ok with you?" The woman's voice was calm and gentle and Conner soon found himself nodding his head in agreement.

"What's her name?"

"Artemis."

Mrs. Darby shook the archer gently. "Artemis. Artemis can you hear me? I need you to wake up for me sweety."

The girl began to groan and her eyes opened up drowsily. "That's it. Good girl. My name is June Darby. I'm a nurse. Can you remember who this is?" She pointed towards Conner.

Artemis looked at the strange woman in confusion before looking at Conner. "T-That's Conner." She tried, and failed, pushing herself up and hissed at the bright lights.

"Can you answer a few more questions for me Artemis?"

"Um sure?"

"Conner told me you woke him up after the crash, do you remember hitting your head or passing out."

"Uh both, I think. The crash was really sudden."

"You don't remember it?"

"Sort of. Not all of it. It's kinda a blur." She looked around the base, her eyes stopping on each of the Autobots, who were watching from a distance.

"Ugh. I was hoping this was all a dream! Just my luck!"

"Ok Artemis. Based on what you and your friend told me, I believe you do have a Grade 2 concussion. That means no sudden movements until the symptoms go away ok? And I'd rather you stay in bed until then."

"That shouldn't be a problem seeing as I can't move half my body." She said sarcastically.

"That's the next thing we need to check. If this is too severe, we may have to take you to a hospital."

June proceeded to asses Artemis' condition, occasionally asking her to try moving different parts of her body on either side. She also tested the temperature and pain sensitivity on Artemis' right side.

"Ok. Without the proper equipment, I can't know for sure, and I'm no doctor. But from what I can tell, Brown Sequard syndrome is a big possibility. Chances are though that it's mild and reversible. You already seem to be gaining mobility back. I believe spinal fracture is the likely cause and the best way for that to heal is plenty of rest, pain medication and a brace. Not the most fashionable thing in the world, I know, but I can bring one of those over soon enough. Luckily I don't see you being off your feet for very long."

Artemis breathed out a sigh of relief. Conner smiled at the information and turned back towards June. "Thanks."

"Of course. I think I should probably check over you too Conner." Conner just shook his head.

"I'm fine. I didn't get hurt."

"Artemis said you were unconscious."

 _Whirr Buzz zree!_

"Bumblebee said he doesn't think that means much for him." Raf supplied helpfully.

"What do you mean?" June crossed her arms and glared up at the bots. "You can't let him off if he's potentially injured!"

"Mrs. Darby, I could not agree more. However, when we first met Conner and Artemis, he fought valiantly to protect his friend from us. For this moment, I trust his judgment in his own wellbeing."

The nurse opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by Ratchet, "Optimus, as much as I hate to interrupt, I have detected a massive energy spike consistent to that of an explosion. An _energon_ explosion."

"What's energon?" Artemis asked.

"It is our lifeblood." Ratchet replied shortly.

" _You_ have blood?" Conner raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Puh-lease! Why wouldn't we?" Ratchet grumbled.

"Don't worry about grumpy-bot," Miko staged whispered at Conner, "He's patience impaired or something."

"We must respond to this incident immediately. It may be part of some Decepticon plot." Optimus looked towards his team.

"Alright! I was hoping to kick some tailpipe soon!" Bulkhead smashed his giant fists together.

'Go get 'em Bulk!" Miko jumped up excitedly. "It'll give me plenty of one-on-one time with the Martians."

"We're _not_ Martians!" Artemis snapped. Miko was seriously starting to get on her nerves.

"That's what they all say, then next thing you know you're being probed!"

"Ratchet, open a Ground Bridge." Optimus commanded.

Conner and Artemis shared a look. They were both grateful for the Autobot's help and this would be a great opportunity to repay them. Not to mention they still needed to find the rest of their team. Conner had already figured this was an alternate dimension seeing as no one had heard of the Justice League. I mean everyone knew the League! What other explanation could there be? If his suspicion were true, he needed to find the rest of his team to so they could all figure out a way to get home. Maybe if he got out of the base, he'd be able to find his team, as crazy as that sounded. Conner bent down and leapt off the platform to the main floor, next to the Autobots, leaving a small dent in the metal floor.

"See I told you they were aliens!" Miko cried out in excitement. Well, she wasn't wrong.

"I'm going with you." The Kryptonian crossed his arms.

"We appreciate the offer kid, but we can handle this on our own." Arcee replied.

"I'm not saying you can't, but the rest of my team is still out there and we need to find them."

"What makes you think an energon explosion has anything to do with your team?" Bulkhead asked.

 _Zree Vroww._ Bumblebee agreed.

"Do any of you know what my team looks like?" He challenged.

"Unless your team just happens to be in the same location as the energon explosion, I can hardly see how that makes any difference." Ratchet huffed.

"It matters." Artemis said from her position on the sofa. "Giant robots don't exactly scream 'friendly' if you know what I mean."

"You _really_ think your team is going to be there?" Arcee said skeptically, crossing her arms.

"Can you tell me for sure that they're not?" Conner glared up at the Bots defiantly.

Optimus studied Conner's unwavering form for a long time. He knew the boy could defend himself, that much was obvious, and they may need the extra help. Not to mention, if he were in the same position, he would take every chance to find his team. "Very well. You have proven you can handle yourself, but I ask you not to engage unless you must," He agreed finally. "Autobots, Transform and Roll Out." The bots all transformed and drove through the glowing blue Ground Bridge. Just before going through, Bumblebee pulled up next to Conner and opened his door. Conner gratefully jumped in the passenger seat.

The last thing he heard was Miko's voice, "Hmph! How come _he_ gets to go!"

OoOoOoOoOoO

 _More trees?_ Conner thought as they exited the ground-bridge. Bumblebee let Conner out and transformed with the other Autobots. Superboy followed the robotic team and took some time to observe his surroundings. He noticed the ash falling from the sky and the thick black smoke nearby. The air was hot and humid and he could already feel himself beginning to sweat. _Good thing M'gann's not here._ He thought, knowing how much this heat would affect his girlfriend.

The group continued toward the blast site and the heat rose to almost unbearable levels. Trees were black and burnt and the ground was littered in ash and debris. Ground zero was instantly recognizable. The forest looked as if a giant tornado had touched down and stayed in one place for a long time. The trees were either uprooted or torn to pieces and covered the floor in giant clumps. All of the grass was completely decimated and any hint of green had dissipated much farther back. The forest floor itself was ripped up and a huge crater rested in the center of the destruction.

"The Doc was right, this explosion was huge!" Bulkhead gawked.

"Agreed Bulkhead. However, I cannot believe Megatron would sanction such a loss to his Energon stores."

"So if it wasn't Megatron, who caused the explosion?" Arcee's optics narrowed in suspicion.

Conner scanned the area taking in every little detail with his enhanced vision. The blast hadn't left much evidence for normal eyes, but something about the scene struck familiar to him.

"Wait a minute." Conner said turning all heads towards him. The Kryptonian sprinted around the crater to the trees on the other side that had just missed the worst of the blast. He curiously peered behind one of the trees and picked up a very charred pair of goggles. "I know these! They're Kid Flash's."

"Kid Who?" Arcee knelt down and inspected the goggles in Conner's hand.

"Kid Flash is one of my teammates! He was here!" A primal protectiveness was surging up inside Conner. Now that he knew he was close, he needed to make sure Kid Flash was ok.

Shaking off the shock that the boy's hunch had been right, Arcee examined the situation. The goggles being there may not be as good of a sign as Conner thought. "Conner," She said gently, "I think you need to consider that maybe, your teammate didn't make it out." The femme looked at the boy sadly. She truly hoped this wasn't the case, losing someone close to you was one of the worst things anyone could go through.

"No, that's not possible. I…"

"Conner I know it's not something you want to think about but you shouldn't waste time searching for someone who's dead."

"He's not dead! He-"

"Arcee." Bulkhead cut in.

"Bulkhead he's got to hear this! We can't waste our time-"

"SHUT UP!" The Autobots whipped their heads towards the young Kryptonian in shock. "You aren't listening! Kid Flash is fine! I know it! He's too fast to be caught up in an explosion like this!"

 _Vree Whirrr Blip Bow_

"Yeah well he is!"

"Enough!" Optimus commanded, "It is not wise to be fighting amongst ourselves. Conner do you truly believe your teammate is intact?"

"I'm sure of it!"

"Then our reconnaissance mission has become a rescue. We will help you find Kid Flash."

"Optimus you can't be serious!" Arcee protested.

"I am. Having seen Conner in action leads me to believe there is more to he and his team than meets the eye."

"So… what next?" Bulkhead scratched his helm in confusion.

Optimus turned to the hero, "Conner? You know your team best."

"Well, Kid Flash could be anywhere by now…"

"Oh come on! How hard could it be to find a human?"

"Kid Flash isn't human." Not really anyway.

The bots all looked at him in surprise once more. "What do you mean not human?" Arcee's optics narrowed in confusion.

Conner inwardly cursed. "That's not the important thing right now! We need-" Conner tensed as a strange sound reached his ears.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Bulkhead asked picking up on Conner's distress and arming his blasters.

The bots watched as Conner tilted his head in concentration. He could hear metal scraping against something, kind of like a battle. But there was something else… A familiar voice…

"Aqualad!" Without a moment to spare, Superboy leapt from the crater and charged through the trees towards the sound, ignoring the Autobot's calls. What Conner saw next made his blood boil in anger! Three of his teammates were trapped in the metal grasp of two Decepticons. Kid Flash and Aqualad struggled against the taller silver robot, but M'gann was slumped against the slender fingers of the purple one.

Conner growled angrily, the low guttural sound filling the small space. The four conscious beings looked up at him in surprise.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Kaldur knew when he had engaged the robots that the odds were not in his favor. However, there was no way he was going to let these creatures take him or his team without a fight. He would free his teammates or die trying. What was it they said on the surface, a captain must go down with his ship? It seemed to fit his situation quite well.

His first attack was targeted towards the purple robot holding his teammates. If he could free Wally, his odds would increase exponentially. He charged Soundwave and swung his water bearers fiercely against the titan's metal legs. The hardened water hit with a clang and left large scratches on the bot. Unperturbed, Soundwave kicked Aqualad away from him and into another tree.

"Aqualad!" Kid Flash shouted worried for his friend, "Arg! When I get out of here…"

"You'll what?" Said the silver robot, a devious grin on his face. "Good work Soundwave! Now we shall take our leave." No doubt the leader believed the impact to have killed Kaldur, but what he didn't realize was that Atlanteans were quite durable.

"You will not be going anywhere." Kaldur threatened standing up again.

"Oh thank God!" Kid Flash said relieved.

"What! How is this possible! That impact should kill a human!" The leader shrieked.

"Well good thing I am not human." Kaldur smirked and charged Soundwave once more. In the chaos, the silver robot slipped away into the trees and out of sight. He would have to be dealt with later. Aqualad shot up and raised his water bearers above his head. He would not be able to use his electricity in fear of hurting his teammates, but no doubt the maneuver would cause enough of a distraction. However, just before he landed, Soundwave swiftly dodged the attack sending Aqualad careening into the forest floor.

"Aqualad!" Wally shouted from the beast's hand. Kaldur met the speedster's eyes, "Maneuver 6!" Aqualad's eyes widened in understanding and he crouched once more. The hero leapt into the air once more and grabbed hold of Kid Flash's outstretched hands. Soundwave shook the two boys violently trying to dislodge Kaldur.

"Hold on!" Kid grunted, gripping Kaldur's arms tightly. In the split second that Soundwave stopped shaking them, Kid flung Kaldur over his head as hard as he could. Still gripping Wally's arms, Kaldur turned his body to land on the robot's arm and used his momentum to pull Kid Flash from his grasp. The two quickly jumped off the robot and put some distance between them and it.

However, before either of them could rush to free M'gann, two large hands grasped them quickly from behind, pinning their arms to their side. The silver robot held them to his face and chuckled. "Not so fierce now, are we?" The two struggled against him desperately trying to free themselves. Neither wanted to see where the robots would be taking them. Suddenly, a growl filled the forest turning all heads towards a familiar figure.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Superboy?" Kid Flash said, trying even harder to escape.

The Autobot's clanking footsteps caught up to Superboy and stopped. Their eyes narrowed at the Decepticons ready to take action to save the humans in their grasp.

"Let. My. Team. GO!" Without warning, Superboy crashed into the purple monster holding M'gann and began pounding his face in. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her limp body fall towards the ground into Arcee's blue hands.

The Autobots had been prepared to engage Starscream in order to rescue the two other captive humans. But once Conner had jumped Soundwave, Starscream dropped his captives out of fear and soared away from the destructive Kryptonian. Soundwave knocked Conner off of himself and turned towards the large group standing angrily in front of him.

"Soundwave, Stand Down." Optimus ordered fiercely.

Soundwave knew that he was vastly outnumbered. Instead of causing unnecessary damage to himself, he found fit to take this new information to Lord Megatron. He would want to hear about this new development. Within seconds, the Decepticon transformed into a jet and flew off with a loud blast.

"Dude! That was awesome!" Kid Flash shouted and Aqualad nodded in agreement.

Conner smiled towards his teammates in relief. Aqualad put a hand on Conner's shoulder. "Thank you my friend," He smiled.

"Hate to break up the party," Arcee said, "But we need to get her back to base." The femme held out the unconscious girl.

"That's right! M'gann! Is she alright?" Conner said running towards the Bots.

"I believe she will be fine my friend, it is simply getting too hot out here, even for me." Aqualad said, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Whoa! He's like a mini Optimus." Bulkhead muttered to Bee.

Arcee put a hand up to her com, "Ratchet, We're gonna need a bridge."

Blue and Green light lit up the forest around the group and the Autobots all walked through it with M'gann in hand. Not wanting to let their teammate out of their sight, Conner, Aqualad, and Kid Flash jogged in after them.

"What is this place?" Aqualad said slowly.

"Ok that was _nothing_ like a zeta tube! I feel GREAT!" Said a super-charged Kid Flash throwing his fists in the air.

"Baywatch?" Artemis said from the elevated platform.

"ARTEMIS!" Kid Flash took off like the Road Runner and tackled Artemis on the sofa she was sitting on.

"Ugh WALLY! What are you doing?!" She shrieked in annoyance.

"Sorryimjustreallygladyourokyouareokrightithinkthatzetatubethingyissocooldontyouitslike- Oof! HEY!"

"What is wrong with you!" Artemis glared at him.

"Didyoujusthitme?! AfterallofthetimeIspentlookingforyou?" Wally said in one breath. He was jumping up and down so fast he looked like a yellow and red smudge.

"Ok who's the idiot who gave a speedster coffee?"

"Coffee!Whohascoffeecanihavesomediditellyouhowgreatifeelrightnow?"

The Autobots and their human friends were unsure how to respond to what was happening in front of them. Their eyes and optics wider than dinner plates, they opted just to watch the spectacle.

"Ugh…" A small sound resonated from within Arcee's servo. The femme opened her hand and M'gann sat up dazedly.

"Wha? Ah!" The Martian flew out of the Autobot's hand, and lifted her hands threateningly towards them. "Who are you?" The girl demanded.

"Is she _flying_?..." Bulkhead grumbled scratching his big metal head.

"Miss M!" Conner shouted from below, "It's ok, they're friends." The Kryptonian smiled slightly looking up at the bots. The Martian floated quickly down to her boyfriend and jumped into his arms hugging him tight.

"Apologies my friends, but I believe some explanations, and perhaps introductions, are in order?" Aqualad looked at Conner, and Artemis, expectantly.

"IagreewithKaldur!" Kid Flash said jumping up and raising his hand like a Kindergartener. Aqualad rubbed his temples and glared lightly at the hyper-active teen. He had felt his body vibrating after exiting the Robot's version of a zeta tube and he had a slight suspicion the same vibrations had caused Kid Flash's sudden "sugar rush." He only hoped it wouldn't last for very long, for everyone's sakes.

"Am I right to assume you are the leader of this Team?" Optimus said kneeling to look the young hero in the eyes.

"You would be correct." Came the leader's formal answer. "Did my teammates not explain who we were?"

 _Zroo, row buzz dee whirr._ Aqualad looked at Bee confusedly.

"They tried to but we were interrupted by the explosion you got caught in." Arcee translated.

"We didn't get caught in the explosion, we made it!" M'gann said a little too cheery.

" _You_ blew up the cons' energon?" Rafael's voice turned the newcomers' heads towards the Autobot's four human allies. How had they not noticed them yet?

"We did what was necessary. We encountered these 'cons,' as you say, from a distance and deduced they were up to no good. Our only option was to not allow them to succeed in their endeavor. However that is not what is important right now." Kaldur glanced back at his team. "We are still missing one, our youngest, and my second in command."

"Your second in command is the youngest on the team?" Said the woman standing next to Artemis. She put her hands on her hips and glared lightly at the teens, "I don't think I like where this is going. You're all just teenagers!"

"I assure you, me and my team are quite capable, as is Robin." Aqualad told the woman, "He has proven himself many times. We must find him as soon as possible." Aqualad looked up at the Robot's leader silently asking for help.

"We will be of assistance in any way that we can." The giant said kindly. Aqualad nodded in thanks.

"Ahem! Somehow I don't think that will be necessary." A familiar voice said amusement lining his voice.

The team's heads all whipped around faster than Kid Flash's constant vibrating and landed on a small boy with black hair standing confidently in the bases' entrance.

"Robin!" They all shouted and ran towards their friend.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! I hope school is going well! I know I've been super busy but luckily I finally had time to finish this! Yay! Anyway please enjoy the new chapter and remember, I really would love your suggestions for future chapters!**

 **`Skylar Day**

|Jasper Nevada

|August 25, 19:35 PDT

"Ah- But- What!" Ratchet sputtered. "How in the Pit did you get in here without setting off the proximity sensors!"

Robin looked up at the giant robotic medic and smirked. "I hacked them, _and_ your government files Doc. I like to do my research." Ratchet's jaw dropped and a few of the Autobot's optics narrowed in suspicion.

"Kinda _convenient_ that you showed up at the same time as the rest of your team." Bulkhead said, unconsciously stepping in front of Miko, Raf, Jack and June. If this was a repeat of the 'Makeshift incident,' he'd be ready.

"Whoawhoawhoa! CalmdownthisisRobwe'retalkingabout! He'safreakyninjahacker." Kid Flash said. He was no longer acting like a hyper five year old, but it was almost as if all of his actions were stuck in fast forward.

"Ugh!" Robin face palmed, "Tell me you didn't let him have Red Bull _again_!"

"You mean this isn't normal for him?" Jack asked. It seemed likely, especially after Conner's display of powers earlier.

For whatever reason, Kid Flash found this extremely funny and he collapsed on the ground in a fit of squeaky laughter. The team rolled their eyes, used to KF's antics albeit _usually_ much slower.

"I believe the method of teleportation we used to get here caused Kid to become this way." Kaldur supplied his theory.

"Teleportation? Like Zeta beams?" Robin asked.

"No, something different, I do not know what it was."

"It was what we call a Ground Bridge. Not unlike the wormholes humans often theorize to be real." Optimus said, "You have mentioned this Zeta Beam many times, what is it you are referring to?"

"They're basically our version of a Ground Bridge…" Artemis said, causing Robin to look at her for the first time. He had seen from the vital stats on her tracker that she was injured, it was only now that he saw just how much. For one, she had obviously not left the sofa in a while, she seemed to be favoring her right side tremendously and her focus was weaker than normal. To a trained bat, it was obvious, paralysis and a concussion. Robin's eyes widened in concern.

"…but a lot different. For one, you don't walk through a Zeta Beam, you stand in it and it just sorta takes you to the other side," Artemis continued to explain.

"Human technology is not yet advanced enough for teleportation." Ratchet huffed, but Robin wasn't focused on that.

"Arty," He said gently, worry filling his features, "What happened to you?"

The team was shocked. Was something wrong with Artemis? How had they not noticed it? Robin _was_ a detective, but they should have all been able to tell if a team member was injured. Now that they thought about it, it did seem odd that she hadn't gotten up once since they'd been there.

"I uh…" Artemis shrunk back in embarrassment, "I-It's nothing, really. I'll be fine... eventually…"

"Eventually?" Kid Flash said, his super-high finally wearing off, "What do you mean eventually?"

"She's temporarily paralyzed on one side, but it will go away as long as she rests and lets herself heal." Nurse Darby stepped up.

"Paralyzed? Hello Megan! I should have noticed! I'm so sorry Artemis, is there anything I can do for you?" The Martian offered kindly.

"No but thanks M'gann. I'll be fine." She smiled reassuringly at her team, touched that they would be so concerned for her.

"Um guys!" Robin hissed glancing at the metal giants surrounding them, "Secret identities are supposed to stay _secret_ remember?"

"Now that your team is all accounted for, we should have no more interruptions. If we wish to fully be of assistance, we must exchange information." Optimus said.

"Is he always this formal?" Robin whispered to Kid Flash, "He's worse than Aqualad!" Wally snorted and nodded to his friend.

"How much has my team told you?" Kaldur inquired.

"Conner said something about a Justice Society." Raf offered.

" _League_ not Society." Robin corrected quickly.

"And you are a covert ops team?" Optimus questioned.

Kaldur sent a light glare to Conner who simply folded his arm in defiance. "That information was supposed to be classified… But yes we are a covert ops team."

"Wait a minute!" Miko jumped up, "You never told us what the Justice League is!" The team looked at the Japanese girl in shock. Who hadn't heard of the Justice League?

"They're our world's superheroes." Robin said before turning to explain to his team, "Somehow we're in a different Universe. Before I got here, I did a quick sweep of the internet. I _knew_ something felt off! Turns out nothing we know exists. Gotham, Metropolis, Central City, they're all gone! Even the history here is different! Crime here is lax so if anyone from the league exists they never stepped up like they did on our Earth."

"Another universe? How is that even possible!" M'gann gaped.

"Ever heard of the multiverse theory?" Kid Flash answered, "Batman and the league have been doing research on it lately. Basically our universe is one of many universes blinking in and out of existence and we're all interconnected in one way or another."

"So you guys are superheroes from another dimension? Sa-weet!" Miko fist pumped.

"Um Miko, they only said they _worked_ for the heroes not that they were heroes." Raf pointed out pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"So then they're sidekicks?"

"Partners!" The Team said in unison.

"Ok, ok! Sheesh! Didn't mean to hit a sore spot!"

Arcee interrupted the girl before she could do any more harm, "Ok let me get this straight. So assuming you're telling the truth, your 'partners' are all heroes in some kind of elite organization and they send _teenagers_ on classified covert missions?" The Team nodded.

"Ok but how did you end up here on _our_ Earth?" Bulkhead piped in.

"You know I'm drawing a blank on that one too guys." Robin admitted finally.

"As are we all my friend. Unless Artemis, Superboy?" The two shook their heads.

" _None_ of you remember how you arrived here? How convenient." Ratchet narrowed his optics in suspicion.

"I share your suspicion." Aqualad narrowed his eyes in warning, "However, so far we have had no reason to believe you would be hostile towards us and we may need to trust you in order to return home. Rest assured, if anything suggests otherwise, I will not hesitate to do what is best for my team."

"Understandable." Optimus said. He was thoroughly impressed by this young team's leader and his authoritative nature. "I wish to apologize. We have divulged our origins to only a fraction of you and expected you to trust us blindly."

"Well, _I_ already know your history on Earth." Robin smirked.

"Yes, how could we forget?" Ratchet bent over in front of him and pointed a colossal finger at Robin's small chest, " _You_ hacked my proximity sensors and shut them down! Don't you know _I needed that!_ "

Robin looked back at the titan with unnerving confidence. "I was going to say that I saw what you've all done here and I respect you more for it. This isn't even your planet and you still protect it like it is!"

"You are aliens." Kaldur realized. "That would make more sense than you being from Earth, even in a different dimension. And it would account for your sentience."

"Yes. We are from the planet Cybertron. A war has been waged for centuries between us Autobots and our enemies the Decepticons, led by Lord Megatron."

"Those were the robots in the forest!" M'gann recognized, "What were those blue cubes they were protecting?"

 _Bip Bree Zroo Vrow Brrr._ Bumblebee tried to explain but he only resulted in confusing the team further.

"What? Does he not speak English or something?" Wally blurted out.

"Bumblebee does indeed understand English, however, his voice box was damaged beyond repair in battle." Optimus explained.

"Smooth Kid Mouth." Artemis snorted. Wally maturely stuck his tongue out at her.

"You're curiosity is understandable." Optimus smiled lightly at the teens. "The 'blue cubes' to which you were referring, are solidified forms of Energon, the fuel and lifeblood of all Cybertronians."

"Psh! Robots don't bleed!" Robin laughed. The Autobots looked pointedly at him.

"Having fought this war for centuries now, I'd say we do." Arcee replied forcefully.

"I uh, didn't mean to offend you guys." Robin said looking at his feet sheepishly not quite sure how else to diffuse the situation, "But in my experience, something with wiring doesn't exactly need blood."

Aqualad recognized Robin's struggle and put a strong hand on his shoulder. "I think what you had meant to say was 'sorry.'"

"Yeah uh, right, sorry," the boy said rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't mean to offend anyone, but sometimes the words escaped his mouth before his brain had anything to say about it. Batman was the same way, brutally honest.

"So you've basically been fighting a war over food? Sounds like my kinda fight!" Kid Flash said interrupting Robin's thoughts. Suddenly his stomach let out a monstrous growl. "Hehe, do you happen to have any _human_ food here? My, uh, tank's a little empty."

M'gann glanced worriedly at him. "Wally, when was the last time you ate?"

"Miss M! Identities!" Robin hissed for the second time that day.

The red-head lifted his arm and opened up a small compartment in the gloves of his suit. Empty. "I don't remember, twenty-four hours at least, maybe more."

"Wally!" Artemis scolded. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"Why do I even try?" Robin threw his arms in the air in exasperation. The only one who seemed to notice the boy was Bumblebee whose door-wings were trembling with restrained laughter.

"Geez! It's not like I'm about to drop dead! I _can_ last a few hours you know!"

"Are we missing something here?" Jack said suddenly drawing everyone's attention to the humans again.

"Kid Dork over here has a super-fast metabolism, side effect of being a speedster." Robin said reaching into his belt and pulling out a specially formulated speedster-granola bar. "Here." He tossed the food to Wally who caught it, ripped off the wrapper and ate the snack in two large bites.

He swallowed it down quickly, "Yup, I have to eat _a lot_ to keep my metabolism up. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask, what's the deal with them?" He said pointing a thumb over his shoulder at Jack, Miko, Raf, and June. "For whatever reason, I don't think giant alien robots usually keep humans, _civilians,_ around."

"They're here for their safety." Arcee stepped up, "The cons mistook them for our allies and got on their radar as leverage against us."

"So they're here for some kind of witness protection program?" Conner piped in.

Arcee smirked at the terminology, "More or less."

"Guys this is all very whelming but we're overlooking something very important here!" Robin looked around at everyone in the room. They all looked back at him with equal confusion.

June leaned over to Jack and whispered, "Did he just say _whelming_?" But Jack just looked back at his mother and shrugged.

When no one answered his 'question' Robin groaned and put a hand over his face. "We all _forgot_ how we got here! Doesn't that sound the least bit suspicious to anyone else? And there's no way of knowing just how much we forgot either! For all we know this world could run on a different time stream than ours!"

"Robin is right." Aqualad said frowning in contemplation, "The last time we all lost our memories, it was not an accident. If we hope to understand how to get home we must remember who put us here in the first place." The base was filled with an eerie silence as the inhabitants all considered what the Atlantean had said.

"I could try to go into our minds and piece together what happened, like I did in Bialia!" M'gann suggested.

"Like a Cortical Psychic Patch?" Ratchet questioned, "That shouldn't be possible for humans."

"Uh, I don't know exactly what that is, but you should have figured out by now that we're not normal humans." Kid Flash smirked.

"Yes, Superboy, Aqualad and I aren't even human." M'gann added.

"If you're not human, then what are you?" June questioned.

"Well, Aqualad is Atlantean, and yeah I mean from the not-so-lost city of Atlantis, Superboy is Kryptonian, and Miss M is a Martian." Wally said pointing to each of his teammates.

"So it was _your_ ship that crashed!" Bulkhead realized. "You sure don't look like the Martians I remember"

"Wait! The bioship crashed?" M'gann flew upwards in surprise, "Is she ok?" The Autobots were taken aback. The way the girl talked about the ship made it seem alive! That would also mean they had left a living thing injured and alone.

"She's fine Miss M." Conner consoled his girlfriend, "She was still working the last time I saw her. She's injured, but I think she'll be fine."

"Thank you Superboy. I guess I can check on her later and if she's healing we really shouldn't move her until she's done." The girl blush a darker shade of green at her outburst.

"So wait… Your ship is alive?" Miko scratched her head confusedly, "Is she like some kind of alien cow or something?"

M'gann giggled, "No but she's organic, like my clothes, and she responds to my mental commands."

"That so cool!" Miko shouted.

"Miss M. I share your concern, but we must try to learn the reason we were sent here." Kaldur said calmly.

"Hello Megan!" She said slapping a hand to her forehead.

"So I guess the whole _secret_ identity is out the window now?" Robin said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oops! Sorry!" The girl blushed again. Her attitude quickly became more serious as she addressed the rest of the team. "If we want to do this right I will need to enter your minds like I did in Bialia. I won't intrude, I promise."

"Hold on one second." June said suddenly. "What do you mean go into their minds exactly?"

"Oh! Well, Martians are telepathic! It's how we pilot our ships and communicate most of the time. I'm going to go into each of their minds with _my_ mind and extract the information we lost. Hopefully our memories can be recovered and aren't lost for good."

"Whoa that's freaky!" Bulkhead shuttered. He didn't _ever_ want anyone to go rooting around in his processor.

"Do what you must Miss Martian." Kaldur said.

"I'm all yours babe!" Wally said

"Uh, me too." Conner blushed

Robin bounced on the balls of his feet, "Let's get going already."

M'gann looked at the last member to respond. "Artemis?"

Artemis sighed in resignation and nodded. "Do what you gotta do."

M'gann smiled gently and put her hands to her temples. Her eyes glowed a vivid green and the last thing the team saw was the Autobots and humans watching them in wonder.

OoOoOoOoOoO

 _Robin, Wally, Kaldur, M'gann, Artemis and Conner stood surrounding the dark figure. Batman surveyed his team with a critical eye before debriefing them on their next mission. The Dark Knight typed something into the computer next to him and three pictures were pulled up. The first was a tall bald man in an expensive suit. The second was a boy with red eyes and black hair shaped like horns. A cat rested comfortably in the boy's arms. The last picture was by far the most terrifying. The man wore a purple pinstripe suit and had wild green hair. His ruby red, larger than normal lips stretched in a maniacal smile on his face_ _._

 _"Ok I get Joker and Luthor teaming up, I mean it's not the first time, but what does Klarion gain out of this?" Wally spoke up._

 _Batman ignored him and continued addressing the team. "Lex Luthor, Klarion and the Joker were all spotted meeting in a discreet location near Metropolis. The league has been keeping watch and they have met a total of three times at the same location. With this information, I have predicted them to be meeting again in a few hours. We need you to go in and gain Intel on their plans. This is a covert mission, observation only. These three are highly dangerous and it is imperative that you engage only to preserve the team or a civilian's wellbeing and even then as a last resort. Gain as much Intel as possible before you abandon your post. I expect you to be ready for departure within the hour." Without so much as an acknowledging glance, Batman turned on heel and stalked briskly out of the mission room._

 _"Ugh! This reeks! How many covert missions are we gonna have to sit through?"_

 _"Calm down Baywatch! It's not the end of the world I mean this is the Joker, Luthor, and Klarion we're talking about!"_

 _"Well it's not the end of the world that you're such a harpy!"_

 _"That doesn't even make any sense Kid Idiot! At least I have a br-"_

 _"Enough!" Kaldur shot a light glare at the bickering heroes. "We must focus on the mission at hand. We will split into groups now so that we will not waste time later. Kid, you and Miss Martian will wait outside to assist the infiltration teams if needed…"_

 _"Looks like it's just you and me green cheeks!" M'gann blushed_

 _"…Robin and Superboy, you will be our first infiltration team…"_

 _"Asterous!" Robin stuck out his fist and smiled when Conner fist bumped him back._

 _"…Artemis, you and I will be the second infiltration team. I will assign points of entry once we arrive on scene. Everyone suit up, we must leave within the hour as Batman said."_

 _…_

 _"ETA two minutes." M'gann's voice rang out clearly in the ship's cabin. "Aqualad, something feels off…I can't place it exactly."_

 _"Understood M'gann. Team we must be on guard once we land." The Team shifted in their seats, M'gann wasn't the only one that thought something was wrong._

 _M'gann's voice cut through the silence once more. "We're here."_

 _…_

 _The team advanced on the abandoned science lab they had been sent to investigate. The building looked almost like something out of an old horror movie. The walls, inside and out, were a dingy white color. Moss and mold grew up to the shattered windows where long finger-like vines grew ceaselessly._

 _"Uh… are we sure this is the right place Miss M?" Artemis cringed, "This lab looks useless!"_

 _"Yes, this is the coordinates Batman gave me." The Martian said, floating down to meet her friend._

 _"We must carry on with the mission." Aqualad said coming up behind the two. "Team, break into your groups. Robin. Superboy. Enter from the back and find a place you can monitor that entrance and whoever may come through it. Artemis, you and I will go in from the side and approach the front of the building. I do not want anyone to see us going in. Kid. Miss M. You will be watching from a distance. Tail anyone who leaves the building and be ready to provide backup if needed. Miss Martian, link us up."_

 _Everyone nodded and quickly rushed to their assigned jobs, and soon M'gann's voice ran through everyone's heads._

 _'We are online.'_

 _'Superboy and I are in position.' Robin reported._

 _'Us too oh fearless leader.' Wally said._

 _'Good, remain vigilant my friends, this could be a very long night.'_

 _The team waited in the lab for what felt like years. Each hour ticked on slower than the next and their idle conversation jumped from one topic to another as their attention slowly waned._

 _'You know, I don't think anyone is going to show up tonight.' Wally complained, 'Why don't we just call it quits?'_

 _'Great idea Wally!' Robin rolled his eyes, 'And since you're the brilliant person who came up with that idea, you get to tell Batman why we abandoned his super important mission before the night is up.'_

 _Wally mentally groaned. 'Pass. But seriously! Nothing is happening and we've been here for forever!'_

 _'I understand Kid, but this mission is important to the league. Keep your patience just a while longer.'_

 _'Hold that thought Kal, there's a car approaching from the front.' Artemis alerted and everyone tensed in anticipation._

 _'Finally.' Superboy muttered. 'Some real action.'_

 _'Aw come on Supey! Don't tell me you didn't just love me and Wally's recount of Paranormal Activity 3!' Robin cackled._

 _'It was…interesting…' M'gann replied, not really wanting to relive that again._

 _'Team focus, they are entering from the front. I want everyone to move towards the target. Do not be seen.'_

 _'Uh Aqualad? That might not be a great idea…' Superboy said suddenly, 'Someone's coming in from the back!'_

 _'Heads up! We have a few coming from above.' Wally said._

 _'Everyone fall back!' Aqualad shouted, his eyes widening in realization, 'We were set up! Get to the Bioship! NOW!'_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hello again! I know it's been a while so I hope this next chapter makes up for the wait. Also, I was reading the previous chapters and I noticed quite a few small holes in my plot that I accidentally left open. So hopefully I will be able to fill a few of those as we go. Also don't be afraid to point those out to me as you read. I would hate to leave you all confused! As always enjoy the chapter, God bless, and Happy New Year!**_

 _ **~Skylar**_

 _ **Recap:**_

" _None_ of you remember how you arrived here? How convenient." Ratchet scoffed.

…

"If we want to do this right I will need to enter your minds like I did in Bialia. I won't intrude, I promise."

…

 _'There's a car approaching from the front.' Artemis alerted and everyone tensed in anticipation._

 _'Finally.' Superboy muttered. 'Some real action.'_

 _…_

 _'Everyone fall back!' Aqualad shouted, his eyes widening in realization, 'We were set up! Get to the Bioship! NOW!'_

 _OoOoOoOoO_

 **|Jasper Nevada**

 **|August 25, 19:43 PDT**

 _Miss Martian called the bioship to the ground and her and Kid Flash boarded quickly._

 _"Miss M we need to get closer to the building!" Kid Flash said urgently._

 _Miss M sat in the Captain's chair and directed the bioship right outside of the research facility. Before the ship even had a chance to touch the ground, Kid Flash was zipping out to back up the rest of the team. All four members had been corralled into the middle of the research facility's lobby. Surrounding them were at least fifty men all carrying heavy artillery pointed directly at them. Kid Flash ran in as fast as he could and stole a few of the weapons from some of the men, but that was hardly enough to get the team out of danger. As the men began to shoot, everyone crowded behind Superboy to escape the onslaught of bullets in the tiny space._

 _"Stop!" cried out a familiar voice from behind the men. The team glared at the infuriatingly familiar face appearing from within the crowd. Lex Luthor._

 _"Luthor! What do you want?" Superboy snarled._

 _"All in good time my boy," the man sneered stepping closer to the team, "But for now, why don't you all just relax and enjoy the show?"_

 _"What show?" Robin demanded stepping forward, batarangs in hand. But before he could take another step, all of the lights went out and a high pitched laughter came on over the facilities' intercom._

 _"Well hello kiddies, and welcome to my freak show!"_

 _"Joker!" Robin scowled._

 _But the Joker continued with his obviously scripted speech. "First up on stage… KLARION LORD OF CHAOS! Bwahahahaha!" A spotlight shone down on the team from somewhere above, and the witch boy stepped into the edge of the light while the Joker's laughter permeated to the edges of the room._

 _'Guys what's going on?' M'gann's voice rang in all of their heads._

 _'We have been surrounded by Luthor, Klarion, and the Joker.' Kaldur replied quickly, 'Miss Martian, do you think you could fly the bioship to the door? We will attempt to retreat."_

 _'On my way Kaldur!' M'gann said, her voice taking on a more serious tone._

 _Aqualad turned his attention back to the scene unfolding in front of him._

 _"Grrr! That's cheating!" Klarion whined stomping on the floor like a toddler, "No telepathy!" The lord of chaos, raised his arms above his head and threw a giant red flaming ball at the team, causing them to all jump to different sides to avoid the spell. Kid Flash pushed himself off of the floor and ran towards Klarion to knock him down. The witch boy smirked at the speedster and swatted him into the wall as if it took no effort at all._

 _'What's he been eating lately?!' Robin exclaimed over the mind-link, 'He's never been this strong before!'_

 _'Robin, distract him, the rest of us will try to approach him from the back.' Aqualad commanded._

 _'Alright.' Robin agreed and pulled out a few exploding batarangs._

 _With the twist of a wrist, the young hero flung them at Klarion's feet. The devices beeped three times before exploding and sending Klarion off balance. The witch boy coughed as dark smoke filled his vision. Robin jumped into the smoke, catching Klarion off guard and sending him to the floor. The boy wonder laid fist after fist on the villain. He knew it would not be enough to stop Klarion, but he hoped that it would be enough to allow his team to get in position behind him. Klarion laughed and kicked the Boy Wonder off of him. The villain stood up, dusting off is shirt, and grabbed Robin by the hair, pulling him off the ground._

 _The witch boy's face suddenly distorted into a menacing snarl. "You're really going to regret that." He growled. Klarion punched Robin in the gut, knocking the wind out of him, and created a swirling black mass in his other hand. The mass grew until the witch threw it to the ground. A tall black swirling cloud appeared and stretched all the way to the ceiling. Klarion smirked, sending a chill down Robin's back. In an instant, the witch boy flung Robin into the mass._

 _"HA!" Joker's voice rang out, "Have fun finding your birdy now!" He taunted._

 _"I'd love to stay and make the rest of you disappear myself, but I have other places to be at the moment." Klarion said nonchalantly. Another red portal appeared next to the black mass. The Witch boy stepped into it and disappeared._

 _"Robin!" Artemis strained to find her friend in the darkness he melted into._

 _Suddenly a shrill whine rang throughout the mind-link and a familiar empty feeling came over the team._

 _"M'gann! What has happened to Robin's mind-link?!" Aqualad demanded, his normally calm voice taking on a more panicked tone._

 _"I-I don't know!" M'gann said resignedly._

 _"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Joker's voice rang through the silence._

 _"Screw this!" Artemis said, "I'm going in after him." True to her word, the archer melted into the shadows just as her friend had earlier. The team, not knowing what to do at this point, continued standing back to back waiting for anything to reveal the fate of their teammates._

 _"Artemis?" Wally called out shakily after a few silent minutes. No answer._

 _"Artemis?!" He called out even louder. Still no answer._

 _"Oh my god." Artemis' limp body had rolled back in through the darkness and settled without so much as a sound._

 _"ARTEMIS!"_ _Kid Flash yelled out and ran to her still body. "No no no!" The distraught speedster felt a firm yet gentle hand on his shoulder and looked up into Conner's concerned eyes._

 _"Kid Flash." Came Aqualad's voice, "Bring her into the bioship quickly. We must retreat."_

 _"No!" Kid Flash spun around angrily, "No way I'm leaving Robin in that… thing! What if he ended up just like Artemis!"_

 _"They're not dead are they?" M'gann whispered._

 _"No." Answered Conner, "or at least Artemis isn't. She still has a heartbeat!"_

 _"Well then we should go after Robin!" Kid Flash cried, "If Artemis survived the portal, then so will we!"_

 _Aqualad looked at the four remaining members of his team considering his options. If they wasted time going back to the league, they may lose Robin for good._

 _"Very well." He agreed, "We will go in after Robin, but we should go in the Bioship. It very well may shield us from this…portal's adverse effects."_

 _Kid Flash smiled and gave Aqualad an approving nod. The speedster carefully picked up the archer and the team boarded the bioship, a strange foreboding feeling seeping through them. Who knows where this portal would take them, or if they would ever make it back again. Wally gently placed Artemis on one of the Bioship's med beds and sat in his own seat._

 _M'gann pushed her hands into the Bioship's controls, lifted the craft and slowly guided it into the portal. Almost instantly, the scenery changed. Instead of the dark outskirts of Metropolis, the team could see nothing but dense forest, Robin was nowhere in sight._

 _"Maybe if we go higher?" M'gann suggested and after a nod from Aqualad, she flew the ship above the trees. "There's nothing but… EVERYONE DOWN!" A dark purple streak violently hit the ship causing it to lurch towards the ground. M'gann regained control but only just. The ship sparked dangerously and lurched again making everyone fall out of their seats._

 _"I can't get control!" M'gann yelled, "I don't know what hit us but the Bioship is not reacting well."_

 _"M'gann can you land it?" Kid Flash asked._

 _"Not without crashing." She said, a worried look flooding her face._

 _"Then we must evacuate." Kaldur said "Conner, take Artemis and M'gann open the doors when I tell you."_

 _"But the Bioship will die if we let her crash!" M'gann protested._

 _"Then try to fly us as close to the ground as you can! When I say to, you will have to let go of the controls and jump out with us." Aqualad commanded._

 _Tears streaked down M'gann's face, "ok" she resigned._

 _"M'gann it will be ok." Conner consoled her, "We will all get out of this somehow."_

 _M'gann nodded and focused back on her task. Conner picked up Artemis and moved towards the door M'gann was opening. Wally and Kaldur stood on its sides watching as the forest floor came closer and closer. Suddenly the Bioship lurched again and Wally lost his footing. M'gann watched almost in slow motion as her red haired teammate was launched from the safety of the bioship, still well above the forest trees._

 _"Wally!" Without think about what she was doing, the Martian let go of the ship's controls and flew out of the door to catch Wally before he hit the ground._

 _"M'gann no!" Kaldur yelled as he watched the scene unfold before him. Trying to regain the situation, the young leader grabbed a hold of M'gann's foot trying only to be pulled out of the ship himself. Connor watched in horror as all three of his teammates fell at least a hundred feet towards the unforgiving ground. Connor knew he couldn't catch them while he still had Artemis in his arms, and there was no way he would leave his charge to crash with the ship alone. He only hoped his teammate's abilities would spare them an early death. All of this happened in a timespan of less than a second and the bioship had just begun to fall to the earth. Decision made, Conner hugged onto Artemis firmly and sat against the wall waiting for impact. Not ten seconds later, a deafening sound filled the Kryptonian's ears as the bioship screeched against the hard ground. The force of the impact threw Conner and his precious cargo from the mouth of the ship and out into the open. As Conner hit the ground, he lost his hold on Artemis and watched helplessly as the girl was thrown violently across the forest. The last thing he saw was the bright red gleam of the bioship as it rolled towards him and landed directly on top of him. Connor's world went dark._

OoOoOoOoO

"How long do you think this will take?" Jack asked. It had been a few minutes since Miss Martian had pulled the team into her mind. Since then, all six heroes had been staring off into the distance not moving a muscle.

"Hmm. Not sure." Miko said jumping to the lower level of the base. She strutted over to the heroes and waved a hand in front of Robin's masked eyes. "Hello? Anyone home?" She asked, huffing when she got no answer.

"Miko! Stop that!" Ratchet snapped, "I have no idea how this process works, it would be best to leave them alone until they are done." The orange and white bot turned back to his computer.

"Do you really think we can trust them Optimus?" Arcee said glancing at the unmoving new guests. She, Optimus, and Bumblebee had retreated to the furthest corner in order to keep an eye on the teenagers.

"As of now I do not believe they mean any harm. However, they are far from home and have been forced to trust strangers, fear can be a strong motivator, no matter the situation." The leader replied ominously.

 _Row dee vip zrow!_ Bumblebee exclaimed, his door-wings shaking to emphasize his point.

"I know they're just kids Bee, but you of all bots should know that kids can be capable of a lot. Not to mention, we've all seen what Conner and some of the others can do." Arcee looked towards Optimus.

"Look, I'm not saying we should treat them like Cons. They don't seem evil, but we can't just give them a free pass, especially with their abilities!"

"You are right Arcee, we should not underestimate them. However, we may have to trust them if we are to get them back where they belong. Understood?"

"Understood. I'm gonna go for a drive. Think you can hold down the fort without me?" She smirked in Bumblebee's direction.

 _Zroo dree!_ He laughed and gave her a mock salute as the femme transformed and drove out.

The yellow mech looked back towards Optimus. _Beep zip dree roo whirr? Vizz zur droo._

"Arcee has had her trust betrayed many times. If you remember, she took some time to warm up to Jackson as well. Her spark is in the right place, and I trust her to make the right decisions concerning our new guests." Optimus gazed back at the young heroes. They had a lot of work ahead of them if they wanted to return the teenagers to their families.

 **|Metropolis**

 **|August 25, 16:50 PDT**

As soon as Luthor's main office was in view, Batman landed the Batwing swiftly on the roof of the building. The two heroes inside jumped out of the plane and stalked up to the roof door. Not wanting to waste any time on trivial obstacles, Batman fiercely kicked in the door and marched down the stairs.

"Ok that was unnecessary." Superman rolled his eyes, walking in behind his friend.

"Are you coming?" Batman glared back.

Superman sighed and resignedly followed the hero. He knew that Bruce was stressed because of the team's disappearance. And he understood, he really did. But Batman tended to get more distant whenever something was bothering him. The man still cared just as much as he always did, but it was like some sort of defense mechanism he automatically defaulted to. To too many people, he came off as uncaring and brutal, but Clark knew better. He was just glad that Bruce had at least allowed him to come along. If he knew the man at all, it was probably just a way to keep himself in check.

The two heroes climbed down the stairwell until they hit the seventeenth floor. Batman picked the lock and quietly entered. Superman had no idea how he knew which floor Luthor was on, but he trusted his friend knew what he was doing.

The door opened up to a long dim hallway with only about two or three doors on either side. Batman led Superman to the second doorway and picked that lock too. The next room was fairly large. Even though it was dark, Superman could see that the walls were painted a dark crimson color. _How fitting,_ he thought. On the far wall were two large windows displaying Metropolis' distinct skyline. All of the furniture in the room was a stark white color and the floor was made of a dark grey tile. As he took in the room, he noticed that in the corner sat a large bed… _no way!_

"Batman," he whispered, "I don't think this is a very good idea!"

But Batman just gestured for him to step into the corner as he silently crept towards the bed. Batman froze as the shape in the bed shifted and turned over. After a few long moments, Batman finally made it to the edge. The hero slowly reached out a gloved hand and grasped the covers over the sleeping figure.

Suddenly, Batman pulled back the blankets and grabbed the collar of Luthor's pajamas. Superman snorted at the sight of one of his deadliest villains being pulled from his bed and slammed against the bedroom wall in his matching pajamas.

Luthor was immediately wide awake. One moment he was sound asleep, and the next he was being held against his will, staring straight into the cold white lenses of Batman's mask. Luthor calmed his pounding heart and glared right back at the man. After all, that's all he was, just a man with no special powers.

"Do you know how rude it is to wake a man so suddenly?" Luthor sneered, a proud smirk lining his voice. The uncovered portion of Batman's face furrowed into a scowl and a primal growl erupted from the back of his throat. Luthor's heart skipped a beat as he witnessed the infamous bat-glare first hand.

"Where are they?" Batman demanded, the fist holding Luthor's shirt pressed harder into his throat, making it harder for Luthor to take a breath. He could have sworn he saw something move abruptly in the corner, but Batman quickly blocked his view. The man's face pressed closer to his own, his eyes conveying all of Batman's sadistic intentions.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Luthor's confidence was slowly loosing hold.

"Yes you do." Batman growled. Luthor never realized how terrifying a whisper could be.

Batman slammed him against the wall even harder this time and left Luthor almost gasping for breath.

"Batman stop!" Came a familiar voice from the corner of the room.

"Superman stay out of this." Batman demanded without so much as a glance over his shoulder. _Oh god! Superman!_

"Now now, let's not be too hasty." Luthor said quickly, deciding he really didn't want to tempt either one of them.

"Luthor just answer the question!" Superman said just wanting to be finished with this.

"It doesn't matter anyway! You'll never be able to get to them!"

"What. Do. You. Mean?" Batman snarled slamming Luthor into the wall. "What did you do with the team?"

"I didn't do anything! I-I swear! It was Klarion! He went against our plan. I-I think he sent them to another universe or something."

Batman froze internally. Another universe? The chances of him finding Robin and his team just decreased exponentially. The Dark Knight felt a lump forming in his stomach. _No!_ He thought _If I want to find them I need to be focused._

"How do we find them?"

"How would I know?" Luthor spat. He stared defiantly at Batman's masked face.

Batman sighed and dropped Luthor to the floor. He strode over to Superman. "Are you coming?"

"We're leaving all ready?" Superman said glancing over at Luthor who was just getting up off the floor. "What are we going to do with Luthor?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean nothing. We don't have any evidence to arrest him with."

Superman shrugged and followed Batman into the hallway. As soon as Batman had slammed the door shut, Luthor pushed himself off the floor and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed the second number on his speed dial and pressed the phone to his face.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring._ "Hello?"

"We have a problem, I am calling an emergency meeting tomorrow. Be there."

The person on the other end of the phone hung up and Luthor sat on the edge of his bed. He had quite a few numbers to call tonight.

 **|Jasper Nevada**

 **|August 25, 19:47 PDT**

The Autobots and the humans watched as the teen heroes all blinked back to reality.

"Well?" Mrs. Darby asked before anyone could say anything.

"Did you find anything out?" Raf added.

Aqualad sighed and his shoulders dropped. "Not nearly as much as I was hoping." He said. He looked around at the curious beings surrounding him and his team. It amazed him how all of them seemed to be just as disappointed as he was feeling. Maybe they really did care about the wellbeing of his team.

"Well what do we do now?" Connor asked.

Aqualad turned his attention to his team. They were all fairly good at masking their feelings, but he could tell exactly what each of them were feeling, maybe because he was feeling it too.

"One of our enemies, Klarion the Witch Boy created the portal we entered to come here." He said, addressing the only hope they had in this world. "We entered of our own free will…"

"Uh not all of us." Robin commented. Aqualad ignored him.

"…and to get back we may need him to create another portal."

"Does anyone see a major problem with this plan?" Kid Flash piped up, "Klarion is in _our_ dimension, not this one."

"I have an idea." Raf said pushing his glasses into his face, "Remember when Jack, Miko, and I were sent to that parallel dimension? Maybe we could fix the ground bridge to send them back?"

"Rafael, you Jack and Miko were indeed sent to another dimension, but they are from another universe. It is not the same. The ground bridge is a method of transportation only. Attempting anything else could be catastrophic." Ratchet told him gently.

"Yeah but that could be their only shot right?" Jack added, "Why not try? Unless we can think of another way to send them back."

"I do not think you understand Jack. No Cybertronian has ever travelled through a different universe. I would not even know where to start." Ratchet countered.

"Hasn't the Justice League travelled to another universe?" M'gann said. "Maybe we could try to figure out how to communicate with them so that we could get their help!"

"Not a bad idea Miss M" Robin said switching his computer on. "Not long ago Batman and I started research on a device that could be picked up from anywhere, even across universes."

"What made you think you would need that?" Bulkhead said scratching his helm.

"Besides the obvious?" Robin lifted an eyebrow, "There was one time that Batman and the league went to another universe for a few weeks. In that time there was a massive Arkham breakout and the only people available to handle it were me and Agent A. Hardest two weeks of my life. We had no way of contacting Batman to tell him to come back and when he finally did, Gotham was a mess. So since then we looked into a way to keep that from happening again."

"So how far along are you on this device?" Arcee questioned.

"We haven't gotten past the research phase unfortunately."

"It is not a bad place to start." Optimus said trying to comfort the teenagers. "Ratchet do you think you could look at Robin's research and help them develop this device?"

Ratchet nodded in agreement and lowered his hand to the ground in front of the small hero. Robin looked up at him hesitantly before stepping onto the giant's hand. Robin stumbled as Ratchet raised his hand but quickly found his balance again and stood with confidence for the rest of the ride. It was amazing seeing the world from this point of view. Sure he had been to incredible heights in Gotham, but his vision was always hindered by the tops of nearby buildings. This was a completely different experience. Ratchet carefully carried Robin over to the main computer.

"Does your…computer have a USP cord?" Ratchet voice rumbled louder up here than from the ground.

"You mean a USB cord?" Robin chuckled, "Of course it does. Where do I connect it?"

Ratchet showed him the small opening on the front of the giant monitor. Robin nodded and typed a few things on the holographic screen jutting out from his glove. A thin cord snaked out from the side of his glove and Robin plugged it into the port. With a few quick swipes of his hand, all of his and Batman's research on the communication device were loaded onto Ratchet's computer. Robin unplugged the cord and Ratchet lowered his hand, returning Robin to the rest of the team.

Ratchet looked over the research and nodded. "I will need to look into this, but it may be possible to create what you described."

"Until then, you may stay here." Optimus said looking at the teenagers in front of him. "We do not have any beds or rooms for you to stay in, however that is an issue we can easily rectify."

"Thank you." Aqualad nodded. This was going to be a long night.


End file.
